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JASON  LEE 
PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW    TORK    .   BOSTON    •   CHICAGO   .   DALLA 
ATLANTA   .   SAN   F&ANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON   .   BOMBAT   .   CALCUTTA 
MELBOimNB 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
OP  CANADA,  Limited 

TOBONTO 


JASON  LEE 


JASON  LEE 

PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW 
OREGON 


BY 

CORNELIUS  J.  BROSNAN,  ph.d. 

PROFESSOR  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  IDAHO 


NEW  YORK 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
1932 


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0  0 


M 


Copyright,  1932, 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 

All  rights  reserved — no  part  of  this  book  may  be 
reproduced  in  any  form  without  permission  in  writing 
from  the  publisher,  except  by  a  reviewer  who  wishes 
to  quote  brief  passages  in  connection  with  a  review 
written    for    inclusion    in    magazine    or    newspaper. 

Set  up  and  printed.     Published  April,  1932. 


SET    UP    BY    BROWN    BROTHERS    LINOTYPERS 

PRINTED   IN    THE   UNITED    STATES   OF   AMERICA 

BY    THE   FERRIS   PRINTING   COMPANY 


to  my  wife 
Anne  Stapleton  Brosnan 

AND 

my  daughter  and  son 
Mary  and  John 


^ 


PREFACE 

Special  acknowledgment  of  thanks  is  due  these  scholars,  whose 
assistance  in  the  preparation  of  this  biography  was  fundamental: 
Dr.  Herbert  E.  Bolton,  Director  of  the  Bancroft  Library  and 
Head  of  the  Department  of  History,  University  of  California; 
Dr.  E.  A.  Bryan,  President  Emeritus  and  Research  Professor  of 
Economic  History,  Washington  State  College;  and  Dr.  T.  C. 
Elliott,  historical  writer  and  authority  on  Pacific  Northwest  His- 
tory, Walla  Walla,  Washington.  For  construaive  suggestion,  and 
criticism  leading  to  the  avoidance  of  errors  as  to  faa  and  pro- 
cedure, I  am  deeply  indebted  to  these  generous  and  disinterested 
friends,  who,  of  course,  are  not  responsible  for  any  inaccuracies 
that  may  appear  in  the  biography.  For  the  courteous  and  efficient 
aid  given  by  numerous  library  staffs  in  Canada  and  the  United 
States,  I  wish  to  express  appreciation.  I  am  under  heaviest  obliga- 
tion to  the  following  libraries:  The  Bancroft  Library,  University 
of  California,  for  the  manuscript  collection  on  the  Oregon  Mis- 
sion; the  Olin  Library,  Wesleyan  University,  Middletown,  Con- 
neaicut,  for  the  file  of  the  Christian  Advocate  and  the  hitherto 
undiscovered  Lee-Fisk  Correspondence;  the  Library  of  the  Oregon 
Historical  Society,  Portland,  for  the  Jason  Lee  Manuscript  Collec- 
tion; the  Congregational  Library,  Boston,  for  the  file  of  Zion's 
Herald;  and  the  Library  of  the  Stanstead  Historical  Society,  Stan- 
stead,  Quebec,  for  material  on  Lee's  ancestry  and  early  life.  To 
many  persons  who  have  given  some  form  of  friendly  assistance, 
I  am  sincerely  grateful. 

C.  J.  B. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface  vii 

CHAPTER 

I.    The   Flathead   Deputation   and   the   Methodist 

Response  1 

II.    The  Young  Missionary  17 

III.  The  Journey  to  Oregon  41 

IV.  Founding  of  Willamette  Valley  Mission,   1834- 

1837  70 

V.    Mission  Growth  84 

VI.    Lee's  Eastern  Trip,  1838  92 

VII.    Lee  Presents  Claims  of  Oregon  Mission  104 

VIII.    Again  En  Route  to  Oregon  142 

IX.    The  Voyage  of  the  Lausanne  155 

X.    Lee's  Program  of  Expansion  164 

XI.    Progress  in  1841  and  1842  187 

XII.    Pregnant  Events  for  the  Future  200 

XIII.  Lee  Determines  Again  to  Go  East  228 

XIV.  In  Retrospect  276 

APPENDICES 

I.    Lee's  Contribution  to  the  Settlement  of  the 

Oregon  Boundary  Dispute  281 

II.    Federal  Interest  in  Old  Oregon  284 

1.  A  Tribute  to  Lee's  Service  to  Temperance  284 

2.  Federal  Inspeaion  of  Oregon  Conditions  286 

ix 


X  CONTENTS 

APPENDICES— Continued 

III.  Jason   Lee    and   the    Waller-McLoughlin  Land 

Claim  Controversy  Documents  291 

IV.  Lee  and  the  Lausanne  Secret  Service  Fund  316 
V.    Lee's  Second  Will  319 

VI.    Removal  of  Lee's  Ashes  from  Stanstead  to  Salem    323 

VII.    Lee's  Gravestone  Inscription  324 

VIII.    An  Echo  from  the  Past  326 

IX.    Lee's  Place  in  History  328 

Bibliography  331 

Index  335 


JASON  LEE 
PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  FLATHEAD  DEPUTATION  AND  THE 
METHODIST  RESPONSE 

First  tidings  of  Christianity  to  Oregon  Indians.  Fur  trader  and 
trapper  brought  the  first  tidings  of  Christianity  to  the  Indians, 
natives  of  Oregon,  but  it  was  the  visit  of  the  Indians  themselves 
to  the  Church  at  home  that  stirred  it  to  aaion. 

Fur  traders  as  a  class  can,  perhaps,  hardly  be  regarded  as  reli- 
gious, yet  certain  individual  traders  were  notably  religious-minded 
men.  David  Thompson,  the  first  white  man  to  live  among  the  Flat- 
head and  Kootenai  Indians,  seldom  passed  an  evening  in  camp 
which  was  not  given  over  to  his  private  devotions/  The  American 
trader,  Jedediah  S.  Smith,  was  equally  familiar  with  Bible  and  rifle. 
He  is  described  as  a  "bold,  outspoken,  professing,  and  consistent 
Christian,"  and  is  credited  with  the  praaice  of  irivoking  divine 
blessing  before  partaking  of  his  meal.^ 

Moreover,  the  fur  era  of  the  New  World  was  a  period  of  observ- 
ance of  at  least  the  outward  forms  of  religion.  All  the  brigades 
when  leaving  Montreal  for  the  West  received  a  final  blessing  from 
the  priests  at  the  ancient  chapel  of  St.  Ann's;  *  while  out  in  the 
Far  West,  soon  after  the  building  of  Fort  Vancouver  in  1824-25, 
Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  Chief  Faaor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, began  to  hold  religious  services  for  his  servants  and  for  the 
Indians  who  came  there  as  visitors.  Even  prior  to  1841  or  1842, 
it  was  Dr.  McLoughlin' s  practice  to  read  the  service  of  the  Church 

*  T.  C.  Elliott,  David  Thompson,  Pathfinder,  Pamphlet  (Kettle  Falls,  Wash- 
ington, 1911),  p.  7. 

^H.  M.  Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade  of  The  Far  West  (New 
York,  1902),  I,  p.  251. 

*  Washington  Irving,  Astoria;  or.  Anecdotes  of  an  Enterprise  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains  (London,  1836),  I,  p.  206. 

1 


2       JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

of  England  on  Sundays  to  the  officers  and  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
employees  who  attended.* 

Visit  of  the  Flat  he  ads  to  St.  Louis,  1831.  Another  opportunity 
for  friendly  contaa  was  afforded  by  two  almost  coincident  occa- 
sions: the  annual  rendezvous  of  the  fur  traders  and  trappers  at 
Green  River  in  present  western  Wyoming,  and  the  immemorial 
custom  of  the  Nez  Perce  and  Flathead  Indians  to  make  annual  trips 
into  what  is  now  western  Montana  and  eastern  Idaho  to  himt  the 
buffalo.  During  the  fur-trading  era,  different  bands  of  Indians 
from  these  tribes  used  also  to  attend  the  fur  traders'  rendezvous, 
and  through  the  contaa  thus  made  possible,  these  Indians  came 
to  hear  of  other  forms  of  worship  than  their  own. 

In  1831  a  few  friendly  Indians  who  were  curious  to  see  the 
''Black  Robes"  of  whom  they  had  heard,  traveled  to  St.  Louis  with 
a  returning  trader.  General  William  Clark,  the  superintendent  of 
Indian  affairs  for  all  the  tribes  in  the  Missouri  River  country,  im- 
mediately reported  their  arrival  to  the  Jesuit  fathers  and  also  to  the 
Methodists,  who  were  at  the  time  holding  a  conference  in  the 
city.**  Two  of  the  Indians  died  at  St.  Louis  during  the  winter,  and 
were  buried  near  the  Catholic  cathedral;  the  others  departed  for 
home  the  following  spring,  but  only  one  lived  to  reach  his  tribe.  • 

This  event,  simple  in  itself,  was  significant  in  its  consequences. 
It  aroused  the  interest  of  both  Protestants  and  Catholics  and  set 
in  motion  a  train  of  events  that  resulted  in  the  pioneer  missionary 
expeditions  to  the  vast  region  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Conflicting  dates.  Concerning  the  date  of  the  Indians'  arrival  in 
St.  Louis,  several  confliaing  statements  are  extant.  The  official 
register  of  burials  of  the  Catholic  cathedral  at  St.  Louis  (discov- 
ered by  W.  I.  Marshall  of  Chicago)  discloses  two  important 
records:  first,  one  of  these  Indians,  a  Nez  Perce,  named  Narcisse, 

*  F.  V.  Holman,  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  the  Father  of  Oregon  (Cleveland, 
1907),  p.  98. 

^  J.  Q.  Thornton,  History  of  Oregon,  MS.  (Bancroft  Library,  University  of 
California),  contains  letter  of  Rev.  John  W.  York,  a  Methodist  elder  who 
resided  at  St.  Louis  at  the  time  of  the  Flathead  visitation. 

"  "William  Walker  letter,  in  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  (New  York, 
1826),  VII,  p.  105. 


THE  FLATHEAD  DEPUTATION  3 

about  forty-four  years  of  age,  died  and  was  buried  near  the  Cath- 
olic cathedral  at  St.  Louis  on  Oaober  31,  1831.  This  record 
clearly  establishes  the  faa  that  the  Flatheads  visited  St.  Louis  in 
1831,  instead  of  1832,  the  year  usually  cited  as  the  correct  one. 
The  officiating  priest  was  Father  Edmond  Saulinier.'  Second,  the 
same  cathedral  register  also  records  the  death  of  the  second  Indian, 
Paul,  as  having  occurred  on  November  17,  1831.  Father  Benedia 
Roux  conduaed  the  burial  service.'  These  cathedral  register  entries 
not  only  establish  correa  burial  dates;  they  clarify  certain  state- 
ments in  the  William  Walker  letter,  which  will  be  presently  dis- 
cussed, and  furnish  evidence  as  to  the  correct  date  of  Walker's  call 
on  General  Clark.  This  is  important  because  Walker's  statement 
was  cited  for  years  by  Protestant  writers  as  evidence  of  unques- 
tioned validity  in  support  of  the  date  November,  1832,  instead  of 
November,  1831,  as  the  correa  one  for  the  Indian  visitation. 

Another  important  contemporaneous  reference  to  the  Indian 
deputation  is  found  in  a  letter  written  by  the  Right  Reverend 
Joseph  Rosati,  Bishop  of  St.  Louis,**  on  December  31,  1831,  and 
addressed  to  the  editor  of  a  Catholic  publication  in  Lyons,  France. 
The  Rosati  letter  mentions  the  visit  of  four  Flathead  Indians  to 
St.  Louis  "some  three  months  ago."  It  therefore  supports  the 
strong  evidence  favoring  the  year  1831  and  points  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  four  Indians  arrived  in  St.  Louis  in  September, 
1831. 

The  Walker  letter.  The  next  contemporaneous  document  to 
refer  to  the  so-called  Flathead  visitation  is  the  famous  Walker 

^  Le  trent  et  un  d'Oaobre  mil  huit  cent  trent  et  un,  Je,  sousign6  ai  inhum6 
dans  le  Cimetiere  de  cette  Paroisse  le  corps  de  Keepellele  ou  Pipe  Bard  du  Nez 
Perc^  de  la  tribu  de  Chopoweck  Nation  appellee  Tetes  Plates  age  d' environ 
quarante  quatre  ans,  administre  du  St.  Bapteme  venant  de  la  riviere  Columbia 
au  dela  des  Rocky  Mountains. — Edm.  Saulinier,  Pr.  [etre}. 

Hiram  M.  Chittenden  and  A.  F.  Richardson,  Life,  Letters  and  Travels  of 
Father  Pierre  Jean  De  Smet,  S.J.,  1801-1873  (New  York,  1905),  I,  p.  22. 

'  Le  dix-sept  de  Novembre  mil  huit  cent  trente  et  xm,  Je,  sousigne,  ai 
inhum^  dans  le  Cimetiere  de  cette  Paroisse  le  corps  de  Paul  sauvage  de  la 
Nation  des  Tetes  Plattes  venant  de  la  riviere  Columbia  au  dela  des  Rocky 
Mountains,  administre  du  St.  Bapteme  et  de  I'extr^me  onction. — Rous,  Pr.  [etre] 
Chittenden  and  Richardson,  op.  cit.,  I,  p.  22. 

•  W.  I.  Marshall,  Acquisition  of  Oregon  (Seattle,  1911),  II,  p.  7. 


4       JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

letter,  written  January  19,  1833.  This  letter  is  significant  not  only 
for  its  reference  to  the  visiting  Flatheads  already  discussed;  it  has 
also  received  wide  celebrity  as  the  letter  that  started  what  was 
veritably  a  missionary  crusade  in  behalf  of  the  red  men  of  the 
West. 

Walker  was  a  Wyandotte  Indian  interpreter  living  on  the 
Sandusky  Indian  Reservation  in  northern  Ohio.  His  epoch-making 
letter  was  addressed  to  his  friend,  G.  P.  Disosway,  a  Methodist 
merchant  of  New  York  City.  In  it  he  speaks  of  his  return  'last 
November"  from  western  Missouri,  whither  he  had  gone  to 
examine  some  lands  which  the  Federal  Government  had  oflfered 
the  Wyandottes  in  exchange  for  their  Ohio  holdings.  He  tells  his 
Methodist  friend,  Disosway,  that  he  saw  three  visiting  Flathead 
Indians  at  the  house  of  General  Clark,  where  he  stopped  on  busi- 
ness while  on  a  recent  Western  trip.  Stepping  into  Clark's  house 
he  found  the  Indians  "quite  sick."  One  Indian,  he  informs 
Disosway,  had  died  only  "a  few  days"  prior  to  his  call  on  General 
Clark.  Walker's  arrival,  therefore,  took  place  between  the  dates 
of  the  deaths  of  the  two  Indians. ^°  The  burial  records,  as  previ- 
ously stated,  give  these  dates  as  Oaober  31  and  November  17, 
1831.  Walker  reports  the  death  of  the  second  Indian  in  his  letter 
to  Disosway  of  January  19,  1833.  He  doubtless  obtained  this  in- 
formation, though  he  does  not  tell  us  so,  at  St.  Louis  on  his  way 
back  from  his  exploring  tour  into  western  Missouri. 

Whitman's  journal.  A  foiuth  important  contemporary  reference 
to  the  so-called  Flathead  visit  to  St.  Louis  is  found  in  Marcus  Whit- 
man's journal  of  1835.^^  Under  an  entry  of  Oaober  26,  1835, 
Whitman  wrote: 

The  following  is  the  history  of  those  Indians  that  came  to  St.  Louis 
to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the  Christian  religion,  as  1  received  it  from 
the  trader  [foomote  says  trader  is  Fontanelle],  under  whose  proteaion 
they  came  and  returned.    He  says  their  object  was  to  gain  religious 

^•^  William  Walker  letter,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  VII,  p.  105. 

*^  Journal  and  Report  by  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman  on  his  tour  of  exploration 
with  Rev.  Samuel  Parker  in  1835  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Oregon  His- 
torical Society  Quarterly  (Portland,  Oregon,  1900),  XXVIII,  p.  256. 


THE  FLATHEAD  DEPUTATION  5 

knowledge.  For  this  purpose  the  Flathead  tribe  delegated  one  of  their 
principal  chiefs  and  two  of  their  principal  men,  and  the  Napiersa  tribe 
a  like  delegation,  it  being  a  joint  delegation  of  the  tribes.  In  addition 
to  this  delegation  a  young  Napiersa  came  along.  When  they  came  to 
Council  Bluffs,  two  of  the  Flatheads  and  one  of  the  Napiersa  returned 
home;  the  other  Flathead,  the  chief,  and  the  Napiersa  chief,  with  the 
remaining  one  of  the  delegation  and  the  young  Indian,  came  to  St. 
Louis,  where  they  remained  through  the  winter.  At  St.  Louis  two  of 
them  died  and  the  only  remaining  one  of  the  delegation  died  on  his 
return  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone;  so  there  was  none  left  to 
return  but  the  young  man. 

Catlin's  account.  A  fifth  account  was  written  by  the  Indian  por- 
trait paiuter,  George  Catlin,  who,  in  1841,  published  two  volumes 
bearing  the  title  Letters  and  Notes  on  .  ,  .  North  American 
Indians,  1832-1839.  This  work  contains  letters  and  illustrated 
plates.  Letter  number  forty-eight,  in  volume  two,  refers  to  the 
two  returning  Flathead  Indians.  The  Catlin  source  substantiates 
the  correaness  of  Bishop  Rosati's  statement  that  the  visitation 
occurred  in  1831.  All  the  Protestant  versions  of  this  story  give 
the  year  as  1832.    Catlin  writes: 

I  travelled  2,000  miles,  companion  of  these  two  young  fellows 
toward  their  own  country,  and  became  much  pleased  with  their  man- 
ners and  dispositions.  The  last  mentioned  of  the  two  died  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  River  on  his  way  home,  with  a  disease  which 
he  had  contracted  in  the  civilized  district,  and  the  other  one  I  have 
since  learned  arrived  safely  among  his  friends,  conveying  to  them  the 
melancholy  intelligence  of  the  deaths  of  all  the  rest  of  the  party.  "^^ 

Catlin  also  states  that  these  two  surviving  Indians  returned  to 
their  home  by  steamboat  up  the  Missouri  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellowstone.  All  accounts  agree  that  they  spent  the  winter  in  St. 
Louis.    Now  it  is  known  that  steamboats  left  St.  Louis  for  the 

^^  Marshall,  Acquisition  of  Oregon,  II,  p.  12.  A  scholarly  treatment  of 
the  Flathead  visitation  evidence  is  C.  T.  Johnson  (T.  C.  Elliott),  "The  Evolu- 
tion of  a  Lament."  Washington  Historical  Quarterly  (Seattle,  1906),  II,  pp. 
195-209. 


6       JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

upper  Missouri  only  in  the  spring  and  early  summer.  It  is  clear 
from  this  that  their  departure,  which  antedated  January,  1833/' 
must  have  taken  place  in  the  spring  of  1832.  Catlin's  letter  number 
two  begins  in  this  way:  "Mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  River,  Upper 
Missouri,  1832.  I  arrived  at  this  place  yesterday  in  the  steamer 
Yellowstone  after  a  voyage  of  nearly  three  months  from  St.  Louis, 
a  distance  of  nearly  2,000  miles,  the  greater  part  of  which  has 
never  before  been  navigated  by  steam."  ^*  His  letter  number 
thirty-one  begins:  "Mouth  of  Teton  River,  Upper  Missouri,"  and 
continues:  "When  I  arrived  at  this  place  [Fort  Pierre,  near  mouth 
of  Teton  River  in  the  central  part  of  the  present  South  Dakota] 
up  the  river,  which  was  in  the  month  of  May,  1832.  .  .  ."  ^^  From 
other  sources  it  is  known  that  Catlin  left  St.  Louis  on  the  Yellow- 
stone, March  26,  1832.  He  arrived  at  Fort  Tecumseh,  the  site  of 
the  future  Fort  Pierre,  on  May  31,  1832,  and  reached  Fort  Union, 
near  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  modern  Montana,  about  June 
17,  1832.^'  The  significance  of  the  Catlin  letters  is,  of  course,  the 
imconscious  evidence  they  contain  in  support  of  the  correctness  of 
the  date,  1831. 

The  E.  W.  Sehon  letter.  During  April,  1833,  inquiries  poured 
in  upon  General  Clark  for  further  information  concerning  the  now 
famous  Indian  visitation.  The  Christian  Advocate  and  ]ournal  of 
May  10,  1833,  for  a  second  time  featured  Walker's  well-known 
cut  or  representation  of  a  flat-headed  Indian.  The  same  issue  con- 
tained additional  information  concerning  the  St.  Louis  visitors 
in  the  form  of  letters  from  Rev.  E.  W.  Sehon  of  St.  Louis;  Robert 
Campbell,  a  fur  trader;  and  a  St.  Louis  minister,  Alexander  Mc- 
Allister. Rev.  Sehon  states  that  according  to  information  received 
by  him  direct  from  General  Clark,  the  Advocate  version  of  the 
Flathead  deputation  was  correct.  Mr.  Sehon  enclosed  Campbell's 
and  McAllister's  communications  with  his  own  letter.  Campbell 
estimated  the  number  of  the  Flatheads,  described  their  habitat 


^"The  date  of  William  Walker's  letter. 

^*  Marshall,  Acquisition  of  Oregon,  II,  p.  10. 


Ibid.,  p.  10. 
^^  Chittenden,  The  History  of  the  American  Fur  Trade,  I,  p.  340. 


THE  FLATHEAD  DEPUTATION  7 

and  the  routes  by  which  this  Rocky  Mountain  tribe  could  be 
reached/' 

The  ''Patriot,"  Jacksonville.  Convincing  also  is  the  evidence 
contained  in  an  Illinois  newspaper — the  October  12,  1833,  issue  of 
the  Jacksonville  Illinois  Patriot.  This  issue  features  the  report  of 
a  committee  sent  to  St.  Louis  to  interview  persons  personally 
acquainted  with  Rocky  Mountain  tribes  and  to  ascertain  the  truth 
of  the  "Flathead  Deputation  Story."  The  report  was  presented 
to  the  session  of  the  Illinois  Presbyterian  Synod  which  met  at 
Jacksonville,  Illinois,  in  1833.  The  committee's  inquiries  brought 
forth  this  definite  information: 

It  is  a  fact  that  in  the  autumn  of  1831  [1832],  four  Indians  from 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  came  to  General  Clark,  in  St.  Louis,  for 
no  other  ostensible  purpose  than  to  make  inquiries  concerning  our 
religion.  The  circumstances  which  led  to  this  visit  are  already  before 
the  public.  Three  of  these  Indians  were  from  what  is  called  the  Flat- 
head tribe,  and  one  of  them  from  another  tribe,  which  I  do  not  recol- 
lea  that  General  Clark  mentioned — ^probably,  however,  from  the 
adjoining  tribe,  called  Pierced-Nose  Indians.  They  remained  several 
months  with  General  Clark,  and  attended  all  the  places  of  worship 
in  the  city.  During  their  stay  two  of  them  died;  in  the  spring  the 
others  returned  to  their  countrymen,  very  favorably  impressed,  and 
highly  gratified  with  the  kind  treatment  they  had  received.  The  ideas 
they  obtained  on  the  subject  of  their  embassy  must  have  been  very 
limited  and  indistinct,  from  the  difficulty  both  of  imderstanding  the 
particular  points  of  their  inquiries,  and  of  communicating  to  them  the 
answers  in  such  terms  as  they  could  gauge,  and  had  they  possessed 
every  facility  for  instruction,  the  time  was  so  short  that  they  could  have 
carried  back  to  their  nation  but  a  very  imperfect  sketch  of  the  Christian 
religion.  From  anything  that  could  be  learned  on  the  subject,  it  does 
not  appear  whether  these  Indians  were  a  delegation  from  their  tribe, 
or  whether,  being  of  a  more  inquisitive  turn  of  mind  than  their  breth- 
ren, and  having  their  curiosity  excited  by  the  white  man's  story,  they 
came  as  mere  adventurers  to  gratify  their  curiosity.  Nor  does  it  appear 

^'  Sehon,  Campbell,  and  McAllister  letters,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal, 
VII,  p.  146. 


8       JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

whether  those  who  returned  received  such  an  impression  in  regard 
to  the  Christian  religion  as  that  they  would  prefer  it  to  their  own 
superstitious  rites. ^* 

The  significance  of  this  article  is  apparent.  This  committee  in- 
vestigated the  Flathead  visitation  about  two  years  after  it  occurred, 
and  their  report  clearly  assigns  the  date  of  the  event  to  the  autumn 
of  1831.  A  second  interesting  feature  is  the  doubt  expressed  as  to 
whether  the  Indians  came  as  a  ''delegation"  or  as  mere  adventurers. 

Daniel  Lee's  account.  Daniel  Lee,  on  his  outbound  expedition 
to  Oregon,  was  a  St.  Louis  visitor  from  April  5  to  April  9,  1834. 
In  the  previous  August  he  had  been  appointed  missionary  to  the 
Flatheads.  He  was  therefore  naturally  interested  in  learning  direa 
from  General  Clark  all  the  facts  concerning  the  Flathead  visitation. 
In  his  Ten  Years  in  Oregon  he  furnishes  a  significant  piece  of  testi- 
mony. While  he  is  in  error  as  to  the  date  of  the  visitation,  he 
furnishes  convincing  evidence  that  numerous  incorrea  versions  of 
the  Flathead  incident  were  afloat  as  early  as  1834,  when  he  per- 
sonally talked  with  General  Clark  concerning  the  Flatheads. 

An  event  took  place  in  the  year  1832  which  directed  the  attention 
of  the  American  churches  to  Oregon,  as  a  vast  field  of  benevolent 
enterprise,  ripe  for  the  introduaion  of  the  Gospel  among  its  benighted 
inhabitants.  Four  Indians  from  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  belong- 
ing to  one  of  the  tribes  (for  there  are  several  who  flatten  their  heads), 
probably  the  "Nez  Perce"  tribe,  accompanied  some  of  the  white  trap- 
pers from  the  buffalo  country  down  to  the  city  of  St.  Louis.  The  resi- 
dent United  States*  Indian  Agent,  General  Clark,  was  known  to  them 
as  the  first  great  chief  of  the  white  men  who  visited  their  nation.  He 
had  been  seen  by  their  fathers,  who  had  often  told  them  of  his  great- 
ness, and  it  was  natural  they  should  desire  to  see  him.  They  also 
expected  to  return  to  their  own  land,  and  make  known  their  interview, 
as  among  the  most  interesting  occurrences  of  their  tiresome  journey. 
Having  great  confidence  in  him,  they  made  inquiries  about  the  book 
of  which  they  had  been  informed  by  the  hunters,  which  the  Great 

^^  Illinois  Patriot,  October  12,   1833.    Reproduced  in  William  A.  Mowry, 
Marcus  Whitman  (New  York,  1901),  p.  39. 


THE  FLATHEAD  DEPUTATION  9 

Spirit  had  given  all  the  white  men  to  teach  them  his  will.  The  answers 
they  received  were  in  accordance  with  what  had  been  told  them. 

The  writer  saw  General  Clark  in  1834,  two  years  after  their  visit, 
and  learned  from  him  these  particulars  in  relation  to  it.  Two  of  them 
became  sick,  and  died  in  St.  Louis,  and  the  other  two  started  to  return 
to  their  own  land.  It  has  been  reported  that  one  of  them  died  on  the 
way  and  the  other  reached  his  tribe.  As  to  the  truth  of  this  report, 
some  have  doubts.  That  both  perished  in  the  wilderness,  the  victims 
of  sickness,  famine,  or  war,  appears  more  probable. 

A  high-wrought  account  of  the  visit  of  these  Indians  to  St.  Louis 
by  some  writer  [William  Walker]  in  the  vicinity  was  published  in 
the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  New  York  City,  in  March,  1833. 
This  is  the  most  important  periodical  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  The  sum  [of  Walker's  letter]  was  this:  That  these  "red 
men"  were  from  the  Flathead  tribe,  in  the  interior  of  Oregon,  beyond 
the  Rocky  Moxmtains,  from  whom  they  had  been  sent  by  a  council  of 
their  chiefs,  as  delegates  to  St.  Louis,  to  inquire  concerning  the  word 
of  the  Great  Spirit;  that  in  prosecution  of  their  great  object  they  had 
travelled  two  thousand  miles,  through  rugged  mountains  and  barren 
plains  and  dangerous  enemies,  enduring  cold  and  heat,  thirst  and 
hunger,  and  many  hardships,  and  reached  their  destination  in  safety; 
and  that  having  made  known  the  objea  of  their  visit  to  General  Clark, 
and  gained  the  information  they  sought,  two  of  them  were  snatched 
away  by  death,  not  being  permitted  to  carry  back  the  "glad  tidings" 
to  their  anxious  countrymen.  These  incorrect  statements  receiving  the 
fullest  confidence,  many  believed  that  the  day  had  come,  and  that  the 
call  was  imperative,  to  send  the  gospel  to  Oregon.^* 

News  spreads  to  Europe.  The  Flathead  visitation,  despite  the 
exaggeration  and  the  fiaion  which  have  been  woven  around  this 

^®  Daniel  Lee  and  J.  H.  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon  (New  York,  1844), 
pp.  109-111.  Jason  Lee's  academy  classmate  and  friend,  Bishop  Osmon  C. 
Baker,  writing  in  1860  and  prior  to  H.  H.  Spalding's  famous  legendary  account, 
wrote:  "I  hardly  need  say  that  subsequent  investigations  have  pretty  conclu- 
sively shown  this  account  to  be,  in  a  high  degree,  apocryphal.  No  evidence  of 
such  a  Flathead  Council  has  yet  been  found.  No  tribe  has  been  discovered 
eagerly  awaiting  the  arrival  of  a  religious  teacher.  No  returning  deputies  ever 
reported  respeaing  the  white  man's  religious  books  or  religious  life.  A  more 
probable  conjeaive  is  that  those  were  wandering  Indians  on  the  plains,  who 
accompanied  some  white  men  to  the  abodes  of  civilization." — W.  B.  Sprague, 
Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  VII,  pp.  793-794. 


10     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

simple  incident,  created  a  deep  impression  upon  all  who  heard  of 
it.  It  received  wide  publicity  through  the  Christian  Advocate  and 
Journal  and  other  publications.  Even  in  Europe,  such  periodicals 
as  the  Journal  Official  de  L'Institution  Publique  carried  accounts 
of  the  visit  to  St.  Louis  by  the  four  Flathead  Indians.^" 

William  Walker's  letter.  The  Walker  letter"  of  January  19, 
1833,  is  an  interesting  document.  Its  publication  in  the  Advocate 
awakened  the  missionary  enthusiasm  of  American  Protestant 
churches  as  probably  no  other  contribution  has  ever  done  in  the 
long  history  of  this  leading  organ  of  the  Methodist  Church. 
Walker's  letter  is  informal,  and  contains  several  references  to  his 
environment.  In  his  readable  style  he  describes  the  distraaions 
of  his  "small  dwelling."  While  busy  with  his  writing,  a  little 
daughter  was  pulling  a  handkerchief  out  of  his  pocket.  A  young 
son  was  asking  how  to  pronounce  a  word  in  his  spelling  book.  It 
is  clear  to  those  who  read,  nearly  a  century  later,  that  the  half- 
breed  Wyandotte  interpreter  little  realized  that,  on  that  January 
day  of  1833,  he  was  writing  an  epochal  letter.  Great,  indeed, 
would  have  been  the  surprise  of  this  humble  interpreter  could  he 
have  known  that  he  was  soon  to  be  the  instrument  that  would  send 
to  far-off  Oregon,  Jason  and  Daniel  Lee,  pioneers  representing 
"the  first  low  wash  of  waves  where  soon  would  roll  a  human 
sea."  '' 

A  Flathead  mission.  Mr.  G.  P.  Disosway,  who  had  financed  the 
founding  of  the  Methodist  Missionary  Society  in  1819,  published 
Walker's  letter  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  of  March  1, 
1833,  from  which  it  was  copied  by  the  Zion's  Herald  and  numer- 
ous other  publications.  Many  of  the  choicest  spirits  in  the  Method- 
ist Church  immediately  urged  the  establishment  of  a  Flathead 

"*  New  England  Christian  Herald,  later  Zion's  Herald  (Boston,  1823),  IV, 
p.  178. 

**  An  accurate  transcript  of  the  William  Walker  letter  is  in  Chittenden, 
The  History  of  the  American  Fur  Trade,  III,  pp.  914-918. 

''^William  Walker  letter.  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  March  1,  1833, 
VII,  p.  105. 


THE  FLATHEAD  DEPUTATION  11 

mission.  Dr.  Fisk/^  President  of  Wesleyan  University,  Middle- 
town,  Connecticut,  was  deeply  touched  by  the  story  of  the  Indians' 
plea  for  the  "Book  of  Heaven."  His  response  was  an  heraldic 
call  for  Flathead  missionary  volunteers  which  appeared  in  the 
Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  of  March  22,  1833. 

Dr.  Fisk's  appeal.  His  appeal  carried  weight  with  both  laity 
and  officers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  brief  and 
telling  letter  is  presented  in  its  entirety  because  of  the  deep  impres- 
sion it  aeated: 

Messrs.  Editors: — ^The  communication  of  brother  G.  P.  Disosway, 
including  one  from  the  Wyandotte  agent,  on  the  subject  of  the  depu- 
tation of  the  Flathead  Indians  to  Gen.  Clark,  has  excited  in  many  in 
this  section  intense  interest.  And  to  be  short  about  it,  we  are  for  hav- 
ing a  mission  established  there  at  once.  I  have  proposed  the  following 
plan: — Let  two  suitable  men,  unencumbered  with  families,  and  pos- 
sessing the  spirit  of  martyrs,  throw  themselves  into  the  nation.  Live 
with  them — ^learn  their  language — ^preach  Christ  to  them  and,  as  the 
way  opens,  introduce  schools,  agriculture,  and  the  arts  of  civilized  life. 
The  means  of  these  improvements  can  be  introduced  through  the  fur 
traders,  and  by  the  reinforcements  with  which  from  time  to  time  we 
can  strengthen  the  mission.  Money  shall  be  forthcoming.  I  will  be 
bondsman  for  the  church.  All  we  want  is  the  men.  Who  will  go? 
Who?  I  know  of  one  young  man  who  I  think  will  go;  and  of  whom 
I  can  say,  I  know  of  none  like  him  for  the  enterprise.  If  he  will  go 
and  we  have  written,  him  on  the  subject,  we  only  want  another,  and 
the  mission  will  be  commenced  the  coming  season. — ^Were  I  young 
and  healthy  and  imencumbered,  how  joyfully  would  I  go!  But  this 
honor  is  reserved  for  another.   Bright  will  be  his  crown:  glorious  his 

^^  Wilbur  Fisk  (1792-1839).  Born  in  Brattleboro,  Vermont,  in  1792. 
Graduated  from  Brown  University  with  honor  in  1815.  Received  into  N.  E. 
Conference,  1818.  Presiding  elder  of  Vermont  District,  1823.  Principal  of 
Wilbraham  Academy,  Wilbraham,  Massachusetts,  1825.  Delegate  to  General 
Conferences  of  1824,  1828,  and  1832.  Elected  Bishop,  1828  [and  1832]; 
declined  office.  First  President  of  Wesleyan  University,  1831  to  death.  Visited 
Europe  for  health,  1835-1836.  Died  of  tuberculosis,  February  22,  1839. — 
Cyclopcedia  of  Methodism,  editor,  Matthew  Simpson  (Philadelphia,  1876), 
p.  363. 


12     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

reward.   Affeaionately  yours,  W.  Fisk,^*  Wesleyan  University,  March 
9,  1833. 

Missionary  enthusiasm.  During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1833 
the  missionary  enthusiasm  created  by  the  story  of  the  "extraordi- 
nary inquirers  after  the  truth"  grew  to  unusual  proportions.  Con- 
tributions for  the  benefit  of  the  Flathead  Indians  poured  into  the 
Methodist  Church.  The  Mission  Board  of  the  Church  was  urged 
to  establish  a  mission  among  these  Indians.  On  May  18,  1833,  a 
woman  in  Virginia  forwarded  $10  to  Mr.  Disosway  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Flatheads.  In  her  letter  she  expressed  the  hope  that  ''those 
sincere  inquiries  after  truth  should  have  it  speedily  sent  them."  ^^ 
Women  exhibited  their  belief  in  the  cause  of  the  Flatheads  by 
donating  their  jewelry  to  swell  the  missionary  fund.  A  young  man 
of  central  New  York  State  offered  all  his  property,  some  $2,000, 
to  aid  the  Flathead  mission,  provided  that  he,  himself,  should  be 
sent  to  that  distant  field.  ^^ 

Establishment  of  Flathead  mission  voted.  The  Mission  Board 
was  prompt  to  aa,  and  on  April  17,  1833,  recommended  the 
establishment  of  a  mission  among  the  Flathead  Indians.  The 
next  step  was  to  procure  the  proper  missionary  for  the  hazardous 
undertaking.  Dr.  Fisk  at  once  urged  the  appointment  of  Jason  Lee 
of  Stanstead,  Lower  Canada.  Lee  had  been  one  of  Fisk's  prized 
students  at  Wilbraham  Academy,  where  he  had  impressed  his 
teacher  as  possessing  the  varied  qualifications  needed  for  the  dan- 
gerous Flathead  mission.  Dr.  Fisk's  recommendation  brought 
about  Lee's  seleaion  as  ''Missionary  to  the  Flatheads"  in  the  late 
spring  of  1833.'' 

Since  Dr.  Fisk  was,  perhaps,  more  than  any  other  Methodist 
leader,  the  sponsor  and  "father"  of  the  Oregon  Mission,  the 
dramatic  circumstances  surrounding  his  selection  of  Lee  for  the 

^*  Wilbur  Fisk  Proclamation,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  March  22, 
1833,  VII,  p.  118. 

^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  June  7,  1833,  VII,  p.  162. 

^®  New  England  Christian  Herald,  later  Zion's  Herald,  August  7,  1833, 
IV,  p.  178. 

'^''Journal  of  Mission  Board,  Minute  for  April  17,  1833. 


THE  FLATHEAD  DEPUTATION  13 

Flathead  missionary  enterprise  warrant  recital.  They  are  given  in  a 
letter  written  by  Mrs.  Fisk,  and  made  available  in  the  recently  dis- 
covered Lee-Fisk  correspondence  at  Wesleyan  University,  Middle- 
town,  Conneaicut,  in  which  she  recalls  the  intimate  details  of  the 
origin  of  the  Oregon  Mission.  This  letter,  the  primary  document 
which  recounts,  in  phrases  vibrant  with  religious  emotion  and 
tender  remembrance,  the  hour  when  the  idea  of  the  Flathead 
mission  was  born,  is  as  follows: 

Middletown,  Oa.  [1839] 

Dear  Bro.  &  Sis.  Luckey, 

...  It  was  the  praaice  of  my  beloved  Husband,  when  we  received 
the  Advocate  and  Journal,  just  to  glance  over  it,  to  assertain  if  there 
was  any  thing  to  which  he  wished  to  give  immediate  attention,  and 
then  lay  it  aside,  untill  he  had  compleeted  his  evening  task,  which 
usually,  was  writing  letters,  for  the  University.  The  evening  the  Advo- 
cate arrived,  which  contained  the  account  of  the  four  flat  Head  Indians, 
visiting  "St.  Louis,  in  search  of  the  white  mans  God,"  my  dear  Hus- 
band was  much  more  pressed  for  time  than  usual.  Yet  on  receiving  it, 
he  came  to  me,  and  observed,  that  he  "had  something  interesting  to 
read" ;  at  the  same  time  declining  a  chair,  saying  "he  had  not  time  to 
sit  with  me."  When  he  had  finished  reading,  he  said:  "My  dear  wife, 
we  will  have  a  mission  there."  I  replied  it  would  be  a  noble  enterprise; 
but  where  is  your  man?  He  said  "I  know  of  but  one  in  the  world, 
every  way  calculated  for  such  an  undertaking;  and  you  know  who  that 
is";  I  said  yes;  but  you  are  too  late  for  him.  You  know,  it  is  about 
time  for  Mr.  Lee  to  apply  to  the  British  Conference,  for  acceptance. 
Without  replying,  he  called  for  his  ink,  and  paper  (he  was  standing  by 
my  worktable),  and  in  his  standing  position,  wrote  to  Mr.  Lee,  to 
know  if  he  would  accept  such  an  undertaking,  if  the  church  saw  fit 
to  appoint  him;  and  within  one  half  hour,  his  letter  was  in  the  post- 
office.  The  next  day,  he  began  to  take  measures,  to  collect  funds  for 
this  mission,  and  I  believe  that  between  $700  &  $800  were  raised  in 
our  small  Citty,  to  assist  in  its  outfit. 

He  soon  received  an  answer  from  Mr.  Lee,  stating  that  he  (Mr.  Lee) 
had  already  applied  to  the  British  Conference,  and  if  they  should  re- 
ceive him,  of  course  he  should  be  subjea  to  their  directions;  but  if 
they  did  not  receive  him,  or  his  letter  not  reach  them,  after  waiting 


14     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

a  proper  time  for  an  answer,  he  would  write.  At  the  same  time  state- 
ing  that  he  thought  he  should  prefer  the  mission,  if  the  church  thought 
him  qualified,  and  the  providence  of  God  opened  the  way  for  him  to 
accept  it.  Mr.  Lee  did  wait  some  time  for  his  answer,  but  he  told  me 
the  past  summer  that  he  had  never  received  an  answer  to  that  letter, 
and  you  my  friends,  know  the  result.  My  dear  Husband  always  con- 
sidered the  delay  of  the  answere  to  Mr.  Lee's  letter  a  special  providence 
of  God;  and  the  last  he  said  to  me  of  this  mission  was  in  answer  to  a 
question  of  mine:  Are  you  in  any  way  disappointed  in  this  mission  or 
in  Mr.  Lee? — ^He  replied:  "No,  Mr.  Lee  more  than  answers  my  ex- 
pectations, which  I  confess  were  high — O  how  pleasent  it  is,  where 
you  have  placed  high  confidence,  to  have  that  confidence  more  than 
met."  And  I  see  such  a  beautiful  train  of  providence's  in  this  mission 
that  I  cannot  but  feel  that  the  Lord  owns  it,  and  will  bless  it  abun- 
dantly. This  was  the  last  my  dear  Husband  said  to  me  on  this  mission, 
and  most  probably  the  last  he  said  as  it  was  not  3  weeks  before  his 
death. 

You  will  not  therefore  be  surprised  at  my  feelings — nor  that  I 
cherish  this,  as  a  favourite  Mission.  When  I  read  the  account  of  the 
little  Infant  receiving  the  name  of  Oregon  in  baptism,  I  could  have 
wished  that  the  loved  name  of  Wilbur  Fisk  had  been  added.  And  that 
the  church — the  whole  Church,  would  carry  that  babe  to  the  Saviour, 
in  their  arms  of  faith  and  prayer,  and  plead  with  Him  that  He  would 
spare  its  life  for  the  church,  and  so  to  imbue  it  with  His  own  Spirit, 
that  it  might  be  more  useful  than  the  loved  one  whose  name  it  would 
bear.  I  doubt  not  but  the  church  will  pray  for  that  babe — ^but  from 
no  heart  will  prayer  more  sincerely  and  ardently  assend  in  his  behalf 
than  from  the  humble  Widow  of  Oregons  deceased  Benefaaor. 

Jason  Lee's  acceptance.  The  recently  discovered  Lee-Fisk  cor- 
respondence at  Wesleyan  University,  Middletown,  Conneaicut, 
also  discloses  the  faa  that  Jason  Lee's  consent  to  accept  the  Flat- 
head mission  was  not  unconditionally  obtained  until  as  late  as 
May  25,  1833.  His  letter  to  Dr.  Fisk,  under  date  of  April  18, 
1833,  now  published  for  the  first  time,  sets  forth  clearly  the  cir- 
cumstances which  delayed  Lee's  final  decision  to  link  his  career 
with  Old  Oregon. 

Lee's  newsy  letter  to  Dr.  Fisk  follows: 


THE  FLATHEAD  DEPUTATION  15 

Stanstead  April  18  1833. 

My  Dear  Brother. 

Your  interesting  favour  of  the  6th  inst.  came  safe  to  hand,  and  its 
perusal  gave  me  much  pleasure.  I  perceive  that  you  misunderstood  my 
communication  to  Br.  Baker.  What  I  intended  to  communicate  was 
that  the  M.  Committee  in  London  at  the  time  of  my  olSfering  myself 
were  just  opening  a  mission  among  the  Indians  in  W.  C;  therefore, 
I  made  application  for  admittance  into  this  Conference,  considering 
this  to  be  the  most  eligible  means  of  accomplishing  the  object  which 
I  had  in  view.  It  was  not  however  solely  for  that  mission  that  I  was 
recommended  but  placed  myself  wholly  under  the  control  of  the  Com- 
mittee. This  mission  is  not  as  you  supposed  connected  with  the  I.M. 
already  established  but  is  a  new  enterprise  altogether. 

The  place  chosen  for  the  commencement  of  the  enterprise  is  Lake 
St.  Clair  to  which  the  Rev.  Thomas  Turner  and  family  proceeded 
nearly  a  year  since  and  it  is  probible  that  I  may  be  appointed  for  that 
place  this  year  and  if  so  it  is  not  likely  under  existing  circumstances 
that  I  shall  be  able  to  serve  you.  It  is  posible  that  I  may  not  receive 
an  appointment  this  year  for  two  reason,  first  I  may  be  totally  rejected, 
secondly,  so  much  delay  may  be  occasioned  by  the  the  death  of  the 
secretarie  that  our  minutes  may  not  be  examined  in  time;  in  either  case 
I  am  at  liberty  to  accept  your  offer.  When  I  wrote  Br.  B.  I  expected 
to  have  been  able  to  giYQ  you  a  decisive  answer  before  this  time,  but  I 
now  find  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  do  so  xmtil  the  25th  of  next  month; 
and  even  then  there  would  be  time  for  me  to  arrive  at  Boston  before 
the  session  of  your  C.  The  afternoon  of  the  day  that  I  received  yours 
I  showed  it  to  Br.  Hick  and  while  we  were  conversing  on  the  subject 
Br.  Sprague  came  up — stayed  all  night  and  we  had  an  interesting 
interview.  Held  a  long  confab  about  the  Flatheads  but  he  was  not 
fully  decided,  but  I  think  will  eventually  conclude  to  go.  He  is  I 
think  pretty  well  well  qualified  for  the  enterprise  and  would  probibly 
make  an  agreeable  and  faithful  companion.  His  opinion  of  me  you 
will  probably  receive  before  you  receive  this.  There  is  very  little  hope 
of  my  being  able  to  serve  you,  if  I  should  receive  an  appointment  from 
the  committee,  for,  considering  the  scarcity  of  labourers  here  compared 
with  your  side  of  45,  it  is  not  likely  that  our  preachers  will  be  willing 
that  I  should  leave. 

I  am  fully  persuded  that  you  will  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  those 


16     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

who  are  willing  to  go  for  it  is  impossible  but  that  the  spirits  of  some 
will  be  so  stirred  within  them  that  their  hearts  will  beat  responsive  to 
the  red  mans  call.  And  I  am  far  from  thinking  that  among  your 
thousand  preachers  that  you  can  find  none  as  well  qualified  as  myself 
for  the  enterprise.  I  suppose  from  all  the  information  that  I  can  gtM 
on  the  subject  that  you  will  not  be  able  to  get  your  missionaries  off  in 
time  to  cross  the  mountains  this  season,  which  if  I  go  I  should  very 
much  regret.  If  however  this  should  be  the  case  I  can  see  no  particular 
inconvenience  that  will  result  from  a  little  delay.  If  you  can  find  others 
previous  to  25  th  May  that  will  answer  your  purpose  and  cannot  wait 
for  my  decision  till  then  please  notify  and  I  am  content.  Permit  me 
to  say  that  I  think  with  Br.  Sprague  that  three  is  the  least  that  you 
should  think  of  sending.  If  men  will  risk  their  lives  it  will  not  be  a 
hard  matter  to  persuade  the  Church  to  risk  money  enough  for  their 
out-fit.  I  think  I  should  not  be  willing  to  go  with  less  than  two 
companions. 

I  hope  I  shall  have  an  interest  in  prayers,  that  the  Lord  may  clear; 
or  hedge  the  way,  as  he  shall  see  most  conducive  to  his  own  glory.  If 
Providence  should  release  me  from  previous  engagements,  I  would  say 
"here  am  I,  send  me."  Please  give  my  love  to  all  who  enquire  of  my 
welfare.  I  hope  that  some  of  my  friends  will  send  me  all  the  interest- 
ing information  which  they  can  obtain  concerning  the  mission. 

Yours  afy. 

Jason  Lee. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  YOUNG  MISSIONARY 

Jason  Lee  was  descended  from  a  sturdy  Old  England  and  New 
England  ancestry.  An  old-country  forbear,  John  Lee,  was  a  par- 
ticipant in  the  Puritan  movement  of  Thomas  Hooker,  of  Braintree, 
Essex  County,  England.  In  1634,  this  Roundhead,  John  Lee,  hav- 
ing migrated  to  America,  became  one  of  the  first  fifty-four  settlers 
of  Newtown,  later  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  The  following  year 
John  Lee  made  his  third  westward  move,  to  the  Connecticut  Valley. 
Here,  a  few  years  later,  with  eighty-four  others,  he  purchased  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  square  miles  of  land  from  the  Indians. 

A  brief  glance  at  Jason  Lee's  ancestry  reveals  a  long  line  of 
rugged  pioneering  forbears.  He  was  descended  from  John  Lee, 
already  mentioned,  born  in  Essex  County,  England,  in  1620;  ^ 
John  Lee  of  Farmington,  Conneaicut,  born  in  1659;  ^  David  Lee, 
born  in  Farmington  in  1674;  ^  Jedediah  Lee,  born  in  Coventry, 
Conneaicut,  in  I696;  Elias  Lee,  also  of  Coventry,  born  in  1723;  * 
and  Daniel  Lee,  the  father  of  Jason,  born  in  Willington  in  1753.^ 

Jason's  great-grandfather,  Elias  Lee,  removed  from  Coventry  to 
Willington  between  1731  and  1736.®  Jason  Lee's  father,  Daniel, 
was  born  at  Willington  on  January  20,  1753/  In  these  quiet  rural 
environs,  he  passed  his  youth.  The  quaint  town  or  township  records 

^Leonard  Lee  and  Sarah  Fiske  Lee  (comp.),  John  Lee  of  Farmington, 
Connecticut,  and  His  Descendants,  1634-1897.  Meriden,  Conneaicut,  1897, 
p.  53. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  57. 

« Ihid.,  p.  57. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  401.    Coventry  records  of  births, 

^  L.  Lee  and  S.  F.  Lee  (comp.),  Lee  Family  Genealogy  and  Supplement, 
p.  403;  and  Supplement,  pp.  A6,  48.    Willington  records  of  births. 

'  Willington  Births,  Book  B,  p.  62. 

^  Land  Records  of  Willington. 

17 


18     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

show  that  Daniel  Lee's  father  and  mother,  Elias  Lee  and  Sarah 
Royce  Lee,  were  in  full  communion  in  the  Willington  Congrega- 
tional Church  on  November  28,  1759.^  Daniel  Lee's  mother  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy- two  and  is  buried  at  Willington.  Elias  Lee's 
second  wife  was  Kezia  Lee  (1716-1807),  who  died  at  Willington 
at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-one  years. 

Daniel  Lee  spent  his  youth  on  his  father's  farm  with  his  brothers 
and  sisters  and  the  children  born  from  his  father's  second  mar- 
riage.® He  was  living  at  Willington,  a  youth  of  twenty- two,  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  His  Revolutionary  War 
service  was  brief,  but  meritorious.  The  official  record  reads: 

Private  in  company  from  Willington  under  command  of  Major 
Elijah  Fenton  during  the  Lexington  Alarm,  in  service  ten  days.  Private 
in  6th  Company,  Captain  Jonathan  Parker's  from  Willington,  in  3rd 
Battalion,  Wadsworth  Brigade,  Colonel  Comfort  Sage  commanding  at 
New  York,  June  to  December,  1776.^® 

A  fuller  report,  based  on  the  Willington  Town  Records,  and 
supplementing  the  above-mentioned  brief  statement  from  the 
Adjutant  General's  records  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  reads: 

When  news  of  Lexington  and  Concord  reached  Connecticut,  men 
spontaneously  shouldered  arms  and  marched  to  Boston.  Each  town  in 
the  Willington  area  contributed  a  company  and  some  of  the  larger 
towns  raised  two  or  more  companies.  The  companies,  each  aaing 
separately,  were  known  as  the  Lexington  Alarm  List  in  the  Connecticut 
State  File.  The  Willington  company  contained  31  men,  including 
officers.    Elijah  Fenton  was  major;  Ebenezer  Heath,  Jr.,  Joseph  Mer- 

^  Willington  Congregational  Church  Records.  Elias  Lee,  though  a  resident 
of  Willington,  received  from  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  permission 
to  unite  with  others  in  founding  the  Baptist  Church  of  Stafford.  These  persons 
were  exempt  from  the  church  tax  in  Willington.  Colonial  Records  of  Connecti- 
cut, XII,  pp.  271-272. 

"Daniel  Lee's  full  and  half  brothers  and  sisters  were:  Sarah,  Lucy  (1st), 
Mary,  Elias,  Daniel,  Lucy  (2d),  Jerusha,  Ruth,  and  Jedediah. 

^°  Records  of  Connecticut  Men  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  pp.  25-655 
and  passim  (1889).  Adjutant  General's  Office,  Hartford,  Connecticut;  Revolu- 
tion Rolls  and  Lists,  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  80,  160,  Hartford,  Connecticut. 


THE  YOUNG  MISSIONARY  19 

rick  and  William  Johnson  were  Captains.  Daniel  Lee,  father  of  Jason 
Lee,  went  out  in  this  company.  According  to  the  records  in  the  Adju- 
tant General's  office,  he  served  ten  days.  Daniel  Lee  had  no  other 
service  in  the  year  1775.  In  1776,  Daniel  and  his  brother  Jedediah, 
two  years  younger,  enlisted  as  privates  in  the  6th  Company  of  the  3rd 
Battalion,  known  as  Wadsworth  Brigade.  The  Captain  of  the  com- 
pany was  Jonathan  Parker  of  Willington.  The  3rd  Battalion  was  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Comfort  Sage.  The  3rd  Battalion  was  raised  in 
June,  1776.  Its  objective  was  to  reinforce  General  Washington  in  the 
operations  in  and  around  New  York  City.  The  battalion  had  service 
in  New  York  City  and  on  Long  Island.  In  the  retreat  from  New 
York  City  on  September  15,  the  battalion  suffered  some  losses  and  was 
engaged  at  the  Battle  of  White  Plains,  October  28,  1776.  The  time 
of  enlistment  expired  December  25,  1776.  Daniel  Lee  of  Willington 
had  no  other  service  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

Soon  after  Daniel  Lee's  return  home  from  military  service,  the 
young  soldier  married  Sarah  Whittaker,  a  farmer's  daughter,  re- 
siding in  the  neighboring  town  of  Stafford.  The  date  of  the  mar- 
riage is  preserved  in  this  quaint  record: 

January  ye  8th  1778  Daniel  Lee  and  Sarah  Whitacre  ware  lawfully 
Joined  in  Marriage.*^ 

Sarah  Whittaker,  the  mother  of  Jason  Lee,  like  his  father's  family, 
was  descended  from  an  old  and  sturdy  New  England  stock.  Sarah 
Whittaker' s  grandfather,  Jonathan  Whittaker,  Sr.,  soon  after  1736 
removed  from  Canterbury  to  Stafford,  situated  about  thirty  miles 
northwest  of  that  town.  Here  he  bought  two  parcels  of  unim- 
proved land  for  "350  pounds  of  lawful  money  of  New  England."  ^^ 
The  deed  is  dated  January  9,  1735/6  [old  and  new  style].  Jona- 
than Whittaker' s  son,  Jonathan  Whittaker,  Jr.,  who  accompanied 
his  father  from  Canterbury  to  Stafford,  was  the  maternal  grand- 
father of  Jason  Lee.  In  a  record  book,  yellowed  with  the  years  of 
nearly  two  centuries,  is  this  interesting  recital: 

^^  Vital  Statistics  of  Willington,  Book  B,  p.  62. 
"Stafford  Land  Records,  Book  I,  p.  545. 


20     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Jonathan  Whittaker,  Jr.  and  Susanna  White  ware  Joined  in  Marriage 
December  18th,  1755."' 

On  another  page  is  this  record  of  the  birth  of  Jason  Lee's  mother: 

Sarah  Whitaker,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Susanna  Whitaker,  was 
born  May  18th,  1757.'* 

Jason  Lee's  mother  was  remembered  in  her  father's  will.  This 
document  recites  that  "Sarah  Lee,  wife  of  Daniel  Lee,  shall  take 
and  have  one-third  of  the  household  furniture  after  the  death  of 
Susanna;  also  one-third  of  the  cattle  and  livestock  not  otherwise 
disposed  of."  The  inventory,  filed  January  7,  1813,  states  that 
"Deacon  Jonathan  Whitaker' s"  estate  was  $1,726,  of  which 
$1,226.67  comprised  real  estate.  Distribution  was  made  one  week 
later,  in  which  Mrs.  Daniel  Lee  was  given  personal  property 
valued  at  $83.70.'' 

After  their  marriage,  Daniel  Lee  and  Sarah  Whittaker  resided 
on  a  farm  of  120  acres,  situated  in  Willington.'^  Daniel  Lee's 
property  was  located  in  the  "Ashford  Mile,"  a  land  strip  one  mile 
wide  and  nine  miles  long  taken  from  the  west  side  of  Ashford  in 
Oaober,  1727,  and  annexed  to  the  east  side  of  Willington.  Dur- 
ing their  thirteen  years  of  married  life  in  this  township  nine  of 
their  fifteen  children  were  born.''  Like  his  forbears,  Daniel  Lee 
was  a  "mover."  On  November  21,  1791,  he  sold  his  farm  and 
removed  northward  to  Pittsford,  Vermont.'^  As  early  as  1786,  he 
joined  a  number  of  young  and  middle-aged  Willington  men  who 
went  up  into  Vermont  to  spy  out  and  buy  land  in  that  new  region 
then  called  The  New  Hampshire  Grants.  The  Land  Records  at 
Rutland,  Vermont,  show  that  Daniel  Lee  made  his  first  purchase 
of  land  in  "The  Grants"  five  years  before  he  terminated  his  resi- 
dence at  Willington.   The  brief  statement  reads: 

*^  StaflFord  Births,  Marriages  and  Deaths,  Book  A,  p.  126. 

^^  Stafford  Probate  Records,  VII,  pp.  496,  497. 
^°  Willington  Land  Records. 
^' Vital  Statistics  of  Willington,  Book  B,  p.  62. 
"®  Willington  Land  Records. 


THE  YOUNG  MISSIONARY  21 

February  16,  1786,  Guy  Beebe  sold  land  to  Daniel  Lee  of 
Pittsford.'" 

A  decade  later  he  enlarged  his  land  holdings,  as  revealed  in  this 
brief  record: 

February  6,  1796,  Joseph  Thomas  of  Pittsford  sold  land  to  Daniel 
Lee  of  Pittsford."'' 

His  departure  from  his  Pittsford  home  is  reflected  in  this  brief 
reference  to  the  sale  of  his  farm: 

August  17,  1798,  Daniel  Lee  of  Pittsford  sold  land  to  David 
Whipple."" 

It  was  during  his  residence  near  Pittsford  that  his  four  children, 
Mary,  Whittaker,  Ira,  and  Azubah,  were  born.  Soon  after  this 
date  Daniel  removed  northward,  this  time  to  a  four-hundred  acre 
traa  of  virgin  forest  land,  situated  near  the  present  Stanstead, 
Quebec."^  Here  on  Lot  10,  Range  10,  Daniel  Lee  lived  until  the 
year  1800. 

As  the  years  sped  on,  there  gathered  a  community  of  Connecticut 
and  Vermont  Pioneers,  and  a  town  grew  up  on  the  old  homestead, 
through  which  the  boundary  between  the  domains  of  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States  was  found  to  pass,  leaving  Daniel  Lee's  holding  on 
the  Canadian  side  of  the  line.  The  Canadian  part  of  the  town  is  named 
Rock  Island  and  the  portion  across  the  border  in  the  United  States, 
Derby  Line.  In  one  of  the  dwellings  the  kitchen  is  in  the  United 
States  and  the  parlor  in  Canada."^ 

About  1800  he  sold  his  improved  farm  (betterments)  to  his 
brother  Jedediah  and  established  his  final  home  still  farther  to  the 
north.   The  Daniel  Lee  homestead  is  now  the  John  B.  Gallagher 

"®  Rutland  Land  Records,  Book  IV,  p.  14.  The  record  is  in  error  in  listing 
Daniel  Lee  a  Pittsford  resident.  He  doubtless  went  north  in  1786  to  make  a 
"down  payment"  on  his  land  and  to  establish  his  title. 

^"Ibid.,  V,  p.  141. 

"7^/^.,  VI,  p.  141. 

*^  F.  H.  Grubbs  (comp.),  Memorial  Souvenir  [o/}  Jason  Lee,  p.  61.  Vital 
Statistics  of  "Willington,  Book  B,  p.  62. 

*'  Grubbs  (comp.),  Memorial  Souvenir  \pf\  Jason  Lee,  p.  61. 


22     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

farm,  and  is  situated  about  three  and  one-half  miles  north  of  the 
town  of  Stanstead.  On  this  clearing,  in  a  log  house  built  by  his 
father,  Jason  Lee  was  born  on  June  28,  1803/* 

Back  of  Jason  Lee's  birthplace  is  a  hill  from  which  may  be  seen  a 
sweep  of  country,  three  hundred  miles  in  circumference,  beautiful  farm 
lands  within  an  encircling  rampart  of  mountains  is  seen  to-day;  but  in 
the  days  of  Jason  Lee  it  was  mostly  forest,  with  a  frame  of  blue 


Here  he  passed  his  boyhood,  the  youngest  of  fifteen  children," 
nine  boys  and  six  girls. ^' 

Jason's  father  died  on  July  1,  1806,  leaving  the  lad  father- 
less at  the  age  of  three,  ^®  and  his  mother  with  little  means  of 
support.  For  some  years  Jason  resided  with  the  family  of  his 
eldest  **  brother  Elias,  who  was  by  twenty-five  years  his  senior; 
and  his  sister  Mary,  later  Mrs.  Archibald  Morrill. 

**  The  inscription  on  Lee's  gravestone,  ereaed  from  funds  provided  for  in 
his  will,  originally  at  Stanstead,  but  in  1906  removed  to  Salem,  Oregon,  gives 
June  27.   In  his  diary,  he  gives  his  birth  date  June  28. 

*^  Colonel  B.  B.  Morrill,  Stanstead  Historical  Society,  in  letter  dated  Janu- 
ary 19,  1931. 

*®  Jason  Lee's  brothers  and  sisters  were:  Elias  Lee,  father  of  the  Oregon 
missionary,  Daniel  Lee.  Prominent  in  public  affairs  at  Stanstead.  Member  of 
Wesleyan  Methodist  Society.  Married  Rhoda  Morrill,  an  aunt  of  Hon.  Thad- 
deus  Stevens,  famous  congressional  leader.  Settled  on  the  old  Lee  homestead. 
Jason  Lee,  after  his  father's  death,  made  his  home  with  this  eldest  brother. 
Henry  Lee,  born  September  20,  1779.  Married  Sarah  Davis,  Barrington,  New 
Hampshire.  Moved  in  1804  to  neighboring  Stanstead  farm  described  as  in  west 
half  of  No.  10,  10  Range.  Josiah  Lee,  born  June  24,  1782.  Sarah  Lee  (Mrs. 
Theodore  Pool),  born  March  1,  1783.  Jonathan  Lee,  born  April  12,  1785. 
Died  at  Stanstead,  October  31,  1829.  Susan  Lee  (Mrs.  Moses  Montague),  born 
January  31,  1787.  Married  in  1808  at  21;  died  1819  at  the  age  of  32.  Betsy 
Lee  (Mrs.  Theodore  Pool;  second  wife),  born  Oaober  5,  1788.  Daniel  Lee, 
born  June  1,  1790.  Married  Judith  Morrill.  Ede  Lee,  born  October  1,  1791. 
Married  Mary  Pinkham  in  1816  and  settled  at  Fitch  Bay,  Stanstead  County. 
Mary  Lee  (Mrs.  Archibald  Morrill),  born  June  1,  1794.  Her  husband  was  a 
Stanstead  magistrate  and  aaive  in  public  aflFairs.  Whittaker  Lee,  born  1795. 
Ira  Lee,  born  1796.  Azubah  Lee  (Mrs.  Jeremiah  Morrill),  born  1798.  Achsah 
Lee  (Mrs.  Eli  Bangs),  married  1820;  converted  1833;  joined  the  "Wesleyan 
Methodist  Society,  1835;  died  1843. 

^■^  B.  F.  Hubbard  (comp.),  Forests  and  Clearings.  The  History  of  Stan- 
stead County  (Montreal,  1874),  pp.  156-159  and  passim. 

*'  F.  H.  Grubbs,  Memorial  Souvenir  [c/]  Jason  Lee,  p.  62. 

^'  Ibid.,  p.  62.  Daniel  Lee  in  letter  to  J.  W.  Bashford  (1889). 


THE  YOUNG  MISSIONARY  23 

Elias's  oldest  son,  Daniel,  the  Oregon  missionary,  was  only 
three  years  younger  than  his  favorite  uncle,  Jason.  The  lifelong 
attachment  between  uncle  and  nephew  doubtless  had  its  beginning 
in  these  early  years. 

Education  and  early  youth.  Jason  Lee  received  what  little 
formal  education  he  had  in  the  village  school  at  Stanstead.'"  In 
after  years  Daniel  Lee  referred  to  the  little  Stanstead  schoolhouse 
as  the  place  "where  our  gentle  youth  was  cherished."  ^^  He  was  a 
lad  of  nine  when  the  War  of  1812-1814  came  as  a  disturbing 
event  to  the  small  community  of  Stanstead  pioneers.  Lee's  diary 
and  correspondence  are  silent  as  to  his  memories  of  that  trying 
period.  A  contemporary  record  states  that: 

During  the  time  of  the  American  War  of  1812-1815,  the  inhabitants 
of  Stanstead  and  Derby  maintained  a  stria  neutrality  and  continued 
their  previous  friendly  relations  to  each  other.  As  they  had  together 
and  alike  shared  the  difficulties  and  privations  incident  to  new  settle- 
ments, and  as  nothing  they  could  do  could  affect  the  general  issue 
between  the  two  governments,  they  succeeded  in  maintaining  an  inter- 
change of  visits  between  families,  and  to  a  very  great  extent,  their 
previous  business  intercourse.  Smuggling  was,  indeed,  carried  on  by 
parties  on  both  sides  of  the  line;  but  this  did  not  dismrb  the  quiet 
and  harmony  of  the  two  towns.' ^ 

In  1816,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  Jason  Lee  was  self-supporting. 
In  his  diary  he  recalls  that  he  "was  thrown  upon  the  world,  with- 
out money,  to  provide  for  all  my  wants,  by  my  own  industry."  '' 
During  his  early  years,  this  young  Canadian  giant  followed  the 
occupation  of  farmer  boy  in  a  new  country.'*  In  his  diary  he 
makes  this  brief  reference  to  these  toilsome  years:  "Years  after 
years  passed  away;  which  I  spent  successively  in  business,  in  study 
and  in  preaching,  until  I  reached  the  age  of  30."   Another  refer- 

'"B.  F.  Hubbard  (comp.),  Forests  and  Clearings,  p.  158. 

'^  Jason  Lee  Obituary  Notice  by  Daniel  Lee,  Christian  Advocate  and  Jour- 
nal, April  23,  1845,  XIX,  p.  148. 

*^B.  F.  Hubbard  (comp.),  Forests  and  Clearings,  pp.  12,  30. 

'^  Diary  of  Jason  Lee,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  408. 

**H.  K.  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  (Portland, 
1899),  p.  ^6. 


24     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

ence  to  these  early  years  at  Stanstead  was  made  during  his  appear- 
ance before  his  Mission  Board  at  New  York  City  in  July,  1844, 
when  he  recalled  for  his  Mission  Board  that  his  Stanstead  ex- 
periences had  fitted  him  for  the  manual  labors  that  fell  to  his 
lot  as  an  Old  Oregon  missionary.  He  said  that  "he  was  brought 
up  to  hard  work"  and  had  ''managed  gangs  of  men  before  he 
was  converted,"  and  reminded  them  that  he  "had  seen  the  day 
when  he  could  chop  a  cord  of  sugar  maple  wood  in  two  hours."  " 

In  1821,  an  intense  religious  revival  was  conduaed  at  Stanstead 
by  the  Reverend  John  Hick,  the  first  of  the  Wesleyan  ministers 
to  receive  appointment  to  the  Stanstead  Circuit.  Five  years  later, 
in  1826,  came  another  remarkable  series  of  religious  meetings. 
One  of  the  protraaed  revivals  of  this  period  is  revealingly  de- 
scribed as  "The  forty  days'  meeting."  '*  The  leader  of  this  second 
great  religious  awakening  was  the  Reverend  Richard  Pope.  Al- 
though his  appointment  under  the  British  Wesleyan  Society's  itiner- 
ant system  was  for  only  a  two-year  period,  so  great  was  his  success 
that  he  ministered  to  the  Stanstead  folk  for  the  "extra-ordinarily 
protracted  stay  of  four  years,"  or  from  1823  to  1827. 

Lee's  conversion.  To  the  Reverend  Richard  Pope  belongs  the 
honor  of  winning  Jason  Lee  to  the  service  of  the  Church.  This 
circuit  rider,  whose  arduous  labors  terminated  at  the  youthful  age 
of  forty-three,  a  viaim  of  Asiatic  cholera  in  the  city  of  Quebec, 
changed  the  life  story  of  Jason  Lee  and  caused  him  "to  walk  with 
the  prophets."  *' 

H.  K.  Hines,  who  had  contact  with  firsthand  sources  of  informa- 
tion has  given  us  a  vivid  picture  of  Lee's  conversion: 

While  this  revival  was  in  full  progress  [writes  Hines}  Jason  Lee 
was  astonished  to  find  that  all  things  had  become  new  about  his  old 
home.  Old  faces  wore  a  new  glory,  old  friends  spoke  a  new  tongue.  .  .  . 
On  a  Sabbath,  while  returning  home  from  church  in  company  with  his 

""Jason  Lee  to  Missionary  Board,  Lee  Manuscript  Colleaion  in  Oregon 
Historical  Society  Library,  Portland,  Oregon,  pp.  19,  20. 
®®  B.  F.  Hubbard  (comp.),  Forests  and  Clearings,  p.  85. 
' '  H,  K.  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  p.  46. 


THE  YOUNG  MISSIONARY  25 

nephew,  afterwards  Rev.  Daniel  Lee,  his  companion  and  coadjutor  in 
the  Oregon  Mission,  the  latter  spoke  to  him  about  the  salvation  of  his 
soul.  Returning  to  the  church  again  in  the  evening,  while  the  people 
were  engaged  in  a  prayer  meeting,  he  stood  up  in  their  midst  and 
announced  his  firmly  formed  resolve  to  be  a  Christian.  All  hearts 
thrilled  as  his  tall  form,  six  feet  and  three  inches  in  height,  rose  in 
their  midst  and  he  began  to  speak.  His  emotions  were  deep,  and  tears 
flowed  freely  as  he  uttered  the  vows  that  gave  to  Christ's  grace  a  new 
and  rare  trophy;  to  evangelical  Christianity  one  of  her  most  apostolic 


Daniel,  an  eyewitness  of  the  event,  has  left  a  realistic  descrip- 
tion of  the  profound  religious  awakening  which  his  uncle  now 
experienced: 

In  1826,  under  the  labors  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Pope,  Wesleyan 
missionary,  during  a  gracious  revival  he  was  powerfully  awakened, 
and  an  awful  sense  of  his  sin  and  danger  weighed  down  his  wounded 
spirit.  For  several  days  he  continued  in  deep  mourning,  refusing  to 
be  comforted,  till,  at  length,  as  he  was  one  day  walking  along  the 
highway  alone,  meditating  on  the  future  consequences  of  sin,  so  dread- 
ful did  they  appear,  and  yet  so  just,  that  he  felt  willing  to  endure  all 
he  now  suffered,  and  all  the  Lord  chose  to  lay  upon  him  while  he 
lived,  if  he  could  but  at  last  escape  from  ruin  and  be  saved.  At  that 
moment  deliverance  came;  the  dark  cloud  was  gone;  light,  peace,  and 
joy  filled  his  soul;  and  he  could  exclaim,  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth!"  After  many  struggles  under  the  impression,  "Wo  is  me  if  I 
preach  not  the  Gospel!",  he  ventured  tremblingly  forward  in  obedience 
to  the  divine  call,  and  about  five  years  after  his  conversion  began 
publicly  to  invite  sinners  to  repentence.  In  this  work  he  continued  to 
labor  with  the  Wesleyan  missionaries  in  Stanstead  and  its  vicinity  till 

^  ^  H.  K.  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  pp.  46,  47. 
Hines  (1828-1902),  brother  of  Gustavus  Hines,  who  reared  Jason  Lee's  daughter 
and  was  associated  closely  with  Lee  from  1839  to  1844.  H.  K.  Hines  came  to 
Oregon  in  1853.  Wrote  Illustrated  History  of  Washington,  1893;  Jason  Lee, 
Pioneer  of  Methodism  on  Pacific  Coast,  a  booklet,  1896.  Editor  of  Pacific 
Christian  Advocate,  1880-1884.  "Wrote  for  Portland  Oregonian  Narrative  of 
Pioneer  Ministers.  (See  Oregonian,  August  12,  1900,  p.  15.)  Carried  on 
correspondence  with  Oregon  missionary,  Daniel  Lee  (1806-1895)  and  with 
Lee's  most  intimate  friend,  Bishop  Osmon  C.  Baker  (1812-1871),  obtaining 
some  source  material  of  high  value. 


26     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

1833,  when  he  obeyed  the  indications  of  Providence,  and  engaged  in 
the  Oregon  Mission.** 

In  his  diary,  Jason  Lee  refers  feelingly  to  his  religious  rebirth 
in  1826,  which  marked  a  white  milestone  in  his  brief  but  eventful 
career: 

Thus  far  [he  wrote]  I  had  lived  without  hope  and  without  God  in 
the  world,  but  now,  the  spirit,  which  I  had  so  often  grieved,  again 
spoke  to  my  conscience,  and  in  language  not  to  be  mistaken,  warned 
me  of  my  danger.  I  saw,  I  believed,  I  repented.  I  resolved  to  break  off 
all  my  sins  by  righteousness  and  my  iniquities  by  turning  unto  the 
Lord;  and  if  I  perished,  I  would  perish  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  pleading 
for  mercy.  I  saw  the  fulness  of  the  plan  of  salvation,  cast  away  my 
unbelieving  fears — believed  in,  and  gave  myself  to  Christ — and  was 
ushered  into  the  liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  I  was  now,  by  my 
own  consent,  the  property  of  another,  and  his  glory  and  not  my  own 
gratification  must  be  the  objea  of  my  pursuit.*" 

WHbraham  Academy,  Lee  continued  his  work  as  a  manual 
laborer  for  three  years  following  his  conversion.  In  1829,  desiring 
an  education  in  order  better  to  equip  himself  for  the  ministry,  and 
despite  his  slender  preparatory  training,  he  enrolled  for  the 
"summer"  term  in  the  young  and  rising  institution,  Wilbraham 
Academy,  at  Wilbraham,  Massachusetts,  a  village  overlooking  the 
Conneaicut  Valley,  where  rest  the  ashes  of  a  long  line  of  Lee's 
ancestors.  This  young  Methodist  school  was  beautifully  situated 
ten  miles  east  of  Springfield,  and  an  unusually  attraaive  campus 
added  to  its  charm." 

'*  Daniel  Lee  Obituary  Notice,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  April  23, 
1845,  XIX,  p.  148. 

*•*  Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  408. 

*  ^  Wilbraham  Academy  is  one  of  the  oldest  institutions  conneaed  with 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  First  established  at  New  Market,  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  1818.  In  1825,  the  Academy  was  removed  to  Wilbraham,  its  present 
site.  Here  it  opened  in  September,  1825,  with  an  enrollment  of  thirty-two 
students  for  the  first  term. — Matthew  Simpson  (ed.),  Cyclopedia  of  Methodism, 
p.  956.  Wilbraham  Academy  Announcement  for  1929-1930  (Wilbraham, 
Massachusetts),  p.  11.  David  Sherman,  History  of  Wilbraham  Academy  (Bos- 
ton, 1893),  p.  1-88. 


THE  YOUNG  MISSIONARY  27 

Academy  friendships.  Lee  made  several  enduring  friendships 
while  at  the  academy.  His  roommate,  Thomas  Sewall,  Jr.,  later  of 
the  Baltimore  Conference,  always  spoke  of  him  with  aflfection. 
Another  classmate  was  John  C.  Keener,  later  a  bishop  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  Keener  wrote  this  reminiscent 
reference  to  Jason  Lee  in  a  letter  to  Reverend  John  Parker  Lee  of 
Los  Angeles,  a  nephew  of  Jason  Lee: 

I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  the  picture  of  my  old  and  highly 
esteemed  friend,  Jason  Lee.  It  was  while  at  Wilbraham  I  first  knew 
him.  He  had  the  care  of  all  the  boys  in  the  large  sleeping  hall  of  that 
school.  I  have  but  few  left  of  the  associates  of  those  early  days  of 
Methodism  to  recall  many  delightful  memories  of  the  great  spirits 
that  built  so  widely  the  foundations  of  our  American  Zion.*^ 

At  the  time  of  Lee's  enrollment,  he  was  twenty-six  years  of  age. 
Bishop  Osmon  C.  Baker  occupied,  in  his  student  days  here, 
Room  11  at  the  historic  boarding  house,  while  Lee's  room  was 
Room  13.*'  Lee  and  Baker  attended  classes  at  "Old  Academy," 
described  as  the  oldest  building  in  America  dedicated  to  educa- 
tional purposes.  This  quaint  two-story  structure  still  adorns  the 
topmost  terrace  of  the  Wilbraham  campus.** 

Lee's  personal  appearance.  It  is  to  Osmon  C.  Baker  that  we  are 
indebted  for  one  of  the  most  intimate  pen  pictures  of  Jason  Lee's 
personal  appearance: 

Jason  Lee  was  a  large,  athletic  young  man,  six  feet  and  three  inches 
in  height,  with  a  fully  developed  frame  and  a  constimtion  like  iron. 

His  piety  was  deep  and  uniform,  and  his  life,  in  a  very  uncommon 
degree,  pure  and  exemplary.  In  those  days  of  extensive  and  powerful 
revivals,  I  used  to  observe  with  what  confidence  and  satisfaction  seekers 
of  religion  would  place  themselves  under  his  instruaion.  They  re- 
garded him  as  a  righteous  man  whose  prayers  availed  much;  and  when 
there  were  indications  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  moving  in  the  heart 

*^  F.  H.  Grubbs,  Memorial  Souvenir  [o/]  Jason  Lee,  pp.  62,  63. 
*'  G.  W.  Douglass,  headmaster  of  Wilbraham  Academy  in  letter  to  author, 
June,  1929. 

**  Wilbraham  Academy  Bulletin,  October,  1925,  pp.  12-15. 


28     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

of  the  sinner  within  the  circle  of  his  acquaintance,  his  warm  Christian 
heart  would  incite  him  to  constant  labor  until  deliverance  would  be 
proclaimed  to  the  captive.*" 

Perhaps  the  best  rounded  life-sized  protrait  of  Lee  as  he 
appeared  at  the  beginning  of  his  ministry,  at  the  age  of  thirty-one, 
has  been  painted  by  the  penetrating  Frances  Fuller  Viaor,  writing 
under  the  name  of  Bancroft: 

He  presented  striking  charaaeristics,  carrying  them  on  the  surface; 
qualities  pronounced,  which  made  the  presence  of  the  possessor  felt  in 
any  society  in  which  he  happened  to  be  placed.  ...  At  the  time  of 
his  appointment  to  a  position  destined  to  be  more  conspicuous  in 
Oregon's  history  than  at  that  time  he  could  have  surmised,  Jason  Lee 
was  about  thirty  years  of  age,  tall  and  powerfully  built,  slightly  stoop- 
ing, and  rather  slow  and  awkward  in  his  movements;  of  light  com- 
plexion, thin  lips  closely  shut,  prominent  nose,  and  rather  massive 
jaws;  eyes  of  superlative  spiritualistic  blue;  high,  retreating  forehead, 
carrying  mind  within;  somewhat  long  hair  pushed  back,  and  giving  to 
the  not  too  stern  but  positively  marked  features  a  slightly  Puritanical 
aspect;  and  withal  a  stomach  like  that  of  an  ostrich,  which  could 
digest  anything.  In  attainments  there  was  the  broad  open  pasture  of 
possibilities  rather  than  a  well-cultivated  field  of  orchard,  grain,  and 
vine  land.  He  believed  in  the  tenets  of  his  church;  indeed,  whatever 
may  become  of  him,  howsoever  he  may  behave  under  those  varied 
and  untried  conditions  which  providence  or  fortune  hold  in  store,  we 
may  be  sure  that  at  the  beginning,  though  not  devoid  of  worldly  ambi- 
tion, he  was  sincere  and  sound  to  the  core.  Strong  in  his  possession 
of  himself,  there  was  nothing  intrusive  in  his  nature.  Though  talking 
was  a  part  of  his  profession,  his  skill  was  exhibited  as  much  in  what 
he  left  unsaid  as  in  his  most  studied  utterances.  Frank  and  affable  in 
his  intercourse  with  men,  he  inspired  confidence  in  those  with  whom 
he  had  dealings,  and  was  a  general  favorite.  .  .  .  Unquestionably  he 
was  a  little  outside  the  ordinary  minister  of  the  period.  Some  would 
have  said  he  lacked  refinement,  others  that  his  brusque  straightforward- 
ness was  but  simple  honesty,  unalloyed  with  clerical  cant,  and  stripped 
of  university  gown  and  seaarian  straight  lace.*^ 

**'  W.  B.  Sprague,  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  VII,  p.  792.    Contains 
biographical  sketch  of  Jason  Lee  by  Osmon  C.  Baker. 

**  H.  H.  Banaoft,  History  of  Oregon  (San  Francisco,  1886),  I,  pp.  56,  57. 


THE  YOUNG  MISSIONARY  29 

William  H.  Gray,  mechanic  of  the  Whitman-Spalding  party, 
author  of  an  early  History  of  Oregon  and  an  employee  at  Lee's 
main  mission  at  Chemeketa  after  1842,  knew  Jason  Lee  well.  He 
has  left  this  brief  but  vivid  description: 

Reverend  Jason  Lee,  of  Stanstead,  Canada  East,  was  a  man  of  light 
hair,  blue  eyes,  fair  complexion,  spare  habit,  above  ordinary  height,  a 
litde  stoop-shouldered,  with  strong  nerve  and  indominable  will,  yet  a 
meek,  warm-hearted  and  humble  Christian,  gaining  by  his  aflFable  and 
easy  manners  the  esteem  of  all  who  became  acquainted  with  him.*' 

Sidney  W.  Moss,  an  Old  Oregon  pioneer  of  1842,  who  knew 
Lee  personally  during  his  last  years  of  service  in  Oregon,  has  left 
this  frank  charaaerization: 

Lee  was  rather  an  intellecmal  gentleman,  a  civil,  quiet,  straight- 
forward Mediodist  minister.  I  think  he  emigrated  here  from  there  [the 
East].  He  was  a  large  man,  near  6  feet  high,  weighing  200  pounds. 
He  was  not  very  quick  but  still  a  man  of  energy  and  quiet  determina- 
tion, very  candid  and  very  firm.  He  was  a  man  I  thought  a  great 
deal  of." 

Alvin  F.  Waller,  a  missionary  associate,  has  furnished  this  in- 
forming description  of  the  Oregon  missionary  as  he  appeared  at 
the  height  of  his  aaivities  as  superintendent  of  the  Oregon  Mission: 

He  is  a  tall,  stout-looking  fellow.  But  let  me  say,  the  more  I  become 
acquainted  with  him  the  better  I  like  him.  A  slight  acquaintance  would 
give  you  the  impression  that  he  is  rather  distant  and  cold,  but  as  you 
become  more  intimate  this  is  all  removed,  and  he  becomes  the  warm- 
hearted, cheerful,  and  familiar  friend.  I  believe  him  to  be  decidedly 
pious.  So  far  as  he  has  experience  he  is  a  good  disciplinarian.  He  pre- 
sides with  a  good  degree  of  dignity.  His  decisions  show  that  he 
weighs  what  he  decides.  He  is  not  hasty  in  deciding,  consequently, 
when  he  gives  his  judgment,  he  is  not  easily  moved.  And  in  most 
cases  I  have  admired  his  course,  and  could  not  readily  conclude  that 
he  was  not  generally  correct.  He  is  a  very  good  business  man,  a  good 
accountant  and  economist.  He  is  not  willing  to  spend  money  without 
an  effort  to  have  it  well  applied.  Though  some  think  him  over-careful 

*' W.  H.  Gray,  A  History  of  Oregon  (Portland,  1870),  p.  107. 
*®  Sidney  W.  Moss,  Pioneer  Times,  MS.,  in  Bancroft  Library. 


30     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

in  this,  I  am  pleased  with  his  course.  In  his  preaching  he  is  not  of  the 
brilliant,  flowery  order,  yet  he  is  a  good  sound  preacher.  He  is  gener- 
ally well  liked  in  the  country,  and  has  much  influence.  Upon  the  whole 
I  do  not  know  that  we  could  have  a  better  man  for  the  superintendence 
of  the  mission.  Some  men  might  excell  him  in  some  things,  but  in 
others  they  would  fail  to  come  up  to  him.   I  like  him  well.*" 

Academy  life.  When  Jason  Lee  was  a  student  at  Wilbraham 
Academy,  Dr.  Wilbur  Fisk  was  the  principal,  and  was  deeply 
revered  by  his  pupils.  The  teaching  staff  consisted  of  one  instruc- 
tor each  in  natural  science,  in  language,  and  in  mathematics;  and 
a  preceptress.  The  enrollment  was  one  hundred  and  sixty-three — 
one  hundred  and  five  men  and  fifty-eight  women.  In  the  Chris- 
tian Advocate  and  Journal  of  November  28,  1828,  we  find  this 
reference  to  the  modest  living  costs  that  faced  the  student  in  those 
days:  "The  price  of  tuition  for  common  studies  per  term  is  $3; 
.  .  .  the  price  of  board,  at  the  boarding  house,  including  wash- 
ing, and  exclusive  of  fuel  and  lights,  is  $1.25  per  week.  Board 
in  the  neighborhood  may  be  obtained  at  nearly  the  same  price."  ^" 

Lee  the  teacher.  Dr.  Fisk  early  recognized  Lee's  superior  qual- 
ities and  placed  under  his  tutorial  care  a  class  of  seleaed,  promis- 
ing young  men."  Upon  completing  his  Wilbraham  course  in 
1830,  Lee  served  during  the  succeeding  two  years  as  a  teacher  in 
the  Stanstead  Academy  and  also  preached  in  the  adjoining  towns 
under  the  direaion  of  the  Wesleyan  Church  in  Canada.  ^^ 

*  °  A.  F.  Waller  letter  to  Fuller  Atchinson,  Albion,  Michigan,  Christian 
Advocate  and  Journal,  November  8,  1843,  XVII,  p.  50. 

""  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  November  28,   1828,  III,  p.  51. 

^^  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  p.  49. 

^^  "According  to  our  records  he  [Jason  Lee}  entered  Wilbraham  Academy 
from  Stanstead  in  1829.  At  that  time  Stanstead  was  listed  as  lower  Canada." 
— Letter  from  Gaylord  W.  Douglass,  headmaster,  Wilbraham  Academy,  May 
20,   1929. 

"A  careful  inspection  of  our  early  Academy  catalogues  indicates  that  Jason 
Lee's  name  first  appears  in  the  issue  for  July,  1829.  He  is  listed  from  Stan- 
stead, L.S.  .  .  .  Osmon  Baker,  coming  from  Marlow,  New  Hampshire,  is  in 
the  catalogue  for  1828,  and  again  in  July,  1839.  He  is  said  to  be  assigned  to 
room  in  B.  H.  (boarding  house)  number  11,  while  Lee  is  in  B.  H.  number  13. 
.  .  .  Baker  and  Lee  were  both  at  the  Academy  in  the  year  1830,  and  prob- 
ably in  1831,  although  I  do  not  have  a  catalogue  for  that  year." — Letter  to 
author  from  Gaylord  W.  Douglass,  headmaster,  Wilbraham  Academy,  June  21, 
1929. 


THE  YOUNG  MISSIONARY  31 

Missionary  ambitions.  After  his  conversion  in  1826,  it  became 
his  ambition  to  serve  as  a  Western  Canadian  Indian  missionary. 
On  March  1,  1831,  he  wrote  the  following  revealing  letter  to  his 
former  Wilbraham  Academy  friend,  Osmon  C.  Baker,  then  a 
student  at  Wesleyan  University: 

I  have  not  forgotten  the  red  men  of  the  West  though  I  am  not  yet 
among  them.  Oh  that  I  had  some  one  like  yourself  to  go  with  me,  and 
help  me  in  the  arduous  work,  with  whom  I  could  hold  sweet  converse ; 
or  could  I  even  be  assured  that  I  should,  in  a  few  years,  embrace  you 
in  the  wilds  and  have  you  for  a  companion  for  life,  or  as  long  as  the 
Lord  should  have  need  of  us  in  the  forests,  I  think  I  could  cheerfully 
forego  all  the  pleasures  I  receive  from  the  society  of  friends  here,  tear 
myself  from  the  embrace  of  my  nearest  and  dearest  relatives,  and  go 
(as  John  before  our  Lord)  and  prepare  the  way  before  you.  But  I  am 
building  castles  in  the  air.  No,  no,  that  I  fear  will  never  be.  "Not 
my  will,  but  thine,  O  Lord,  be  done."  ^^ 

The  ministry.  After  completing  the  "spring  term"  at  Wilbra- 
ham in  early  June,  1830,  and  a  brief  teaching  experience  in  the 
recently  established  Stanstead  Academy  in  his  home  city,  Lee 
decided,  in  December,  1831,  to  give  his  time  wholly  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry.  He  served  under  the  direction  of  the  Wesleyan 
missionaries  in  Canada,  preaching  in  Stanstead  and  adjoining 
towns  until  he  accepted  the  call  to  engage  in  the  Oregon  mission. 

In  1832  Lee  applied  to  the  London  Wesleyan  Missionary 
Society  for  an  assignment  to  the  western  Canadian  field,  but  owing 
to  the  sudden  death  of  the  secretary  of  the  society,  Richard  Watson, 
on  December  31,  1832,  no  aaion  was  taken  on  his  application.^* 

Missionary  to  the  Flat  he  ads.  Early  in  March,  1833,  President 
Fisk  wrote  to  learn  Lee's  attitude  concerning  an  appointment  as 
a  missionary  to  the  Flatheads  and,  after  some  delay,  arising  from 
the  circumstances  just  described,  he  received  Lee's  favorable  reply. 
Soon  thereafter  Lee  left  his  Stanstead  home  to  receive  his  mission- 
ary ordination.  On  June  10  he  attended  in  Boston  a  missionary 
meeting  held  at  the  Bennett  Street  Methodist  Church.   Four  days 

''^  W.  B.  Sprague,  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  VII,  pp.  792-793. 
^^  Ibid.,  p,  19^, 


32     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

later,  in  a  beautiful,  impressive  service  performed  by  Bishop  Elijah 
Hedding,  he  was  ordained  "Missionary  to  the  Flathead  Indians." 
In  an  eloquent  address  Dr.  Fisk  referred  to  Jason  Lee  and  his 
proposed  work  with  unqualified  admiration,"  and  stamped  the 
seal  of  his  approval  on  his  Wilbraham  pupil  in  these  words  in  a 
letter  written  a  few  days  later: 

Our  esteemed  brother  Jason  Lee  was  appointed  by  Bishop  Hedding 
at  the  late  session  of  the  New  England  conference  for  that  mission. 
Brother  Lee  is  one  whom  all  who  know  him  judge  well  qualified  for 
the  enterprise.  He  is  the  man  on  whom  my  mind  rested  when  the 
subjea  was  first  agitated.  I  know  him  well,  and  can  most  cordially 
recommend  him  to  all  the  friends  of  the  enterprise  as  one  worthy  of 
their  confidence.*" 

Farewell  to  home.  Following  his  ordination,  Lee  returned  to 
Stanstead,  remaining  there  nearly  two  months.  On  August  19, 
1833,  he  said  farewell  to  his  boyhood  home.  On  the  flyleaf  of 
his  diary  he  wrote  briefly:  "Left  Stanstead,  L.  C,  Aug.  19,  1833." 
One  year  later,  while  journeying  to  Oregon,  Lee  wrote: 

One  year  ago  this  morning  [August  19,  1834}  since  I  took  the 
last  view  of  my  native  town  ...  I  tore  myself  away  from  [relatives 
and  friends]  in  spite  of  all  arguments,  in  spite  of  their  entreaties  .  .  . 
I  saw,  yes,  I  beheld  with  my  own  eyes  five  Brothers  and  four  Sisters, 
Friends  and  Companions  of  my  youth,  grouped  together  to  take  the 
parting  hand  with  one  whose  face  they  had  but  the  slightest  expeaation 
of  seeing  again  till  the  wheels  of  time  ceased  to  move.  .  .  .  One  year 
has  elapsed  and  I  have  not  reached  the  field  of  my  labors." 

The  day  following  his  departure  from  Stanstead,  Jason  Lee  made 
a  brief  call  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Harmon,  of  Coventry,  Vermont, 
a  former  fur-trading  associate  of  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  then  con- 
tinued his  journey  southward. 

"N^w/  England  Christian  Herald,  later  Zion's  Herald,  June  19,  1833,  IV, 
p.  150. 

"'Wilbur  Fisk  Communication,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  VII, 
p.  174. 

"'Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  252. 


I 


THE  YOUNG  MISSIONARY  33 

Daniel  Lee  appointed  as  Oregon  missionary.  Jason  Lee's  first 
problem  as  missionary  to  the  Flatheads  was  to  find  suitable  assist- 
ants. For  his  missionary  associate  and  junior  assistant,  he  chose  his 
nephew,  Daniel  Lee/®  It  was  a  fortunate  seleaion.  Daniel  Lee 
felt  an  intense  admiration  for  his  uncle,  and  his  devoted  and 
effeaive  assistance  during  the  twelve  remaining  years  of  that 
missionary's  life  is  a  record  of  successful  and  consecrated  service 
not  often  surpassed  in  the  history  of  American  Protestant  mission- 
ary effort.  Although  Daniel  Lee  was  not  ordained  as  a  minister 
until  the  spring  of  1834,''"  he  had  already  traveled  more  than  two 
years  in  the  New  Hampshire  Conference.  He  was  appointed 
missionary  to  the  Flathead  Indians  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Conference  at  West  Windsor,  Vermont,  August 
13,1833. 

Missionary  meetings  in  the  New  York  area.  During  the  late 
summer  and  early  autumn  of  1833,  Jason  Lee  and  his  nephew 
were  busy  with  preparations  for  the  journey  to  Oregon.  In  late 
August,  1833,  following  the  commencement  exercises  at  Wesley  an 
University,  Middletown,  Conneaicut,  the  Juvenile  Missionary 
Society,  at  its  first  anniversary  meeting  in  the  Middletown  Method- 
ist Church,  presented  Jason  Lee  with  a  "handsome  collection  for 
the  Flathead  Mission."  '° 

On  Oaober  10,  in  New  York  City,  Lee  held  a  number  of  con- 
ferences with  the  Mission  Board.  Of  especial  importance  was 
the  meeting  of  Oaober  11,  when  $3,000  was  appropriated  for 
the  new  Flathead  Mission,  the  employment  of  two  laymen  assist- 
ants was  authorized,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  a  short  tour 
by  the  missionaries  in  the  latter  part  of  November,  1833,*^  in 
order  to  obtain  contributions  for  the  mission. 

On  Sunday  evening,  November  3,  Jason  and  Daniel  Lee  at- 
tended a  farewell  meeting  in  their  honor  at  Middletown,  Con- 

"  *  Oregon  Mission  Record  Book,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XXIII, 
p.  232. 

^^  Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  111. 

"*'  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  September  13,  1833,  VIII,  p.  5. 

*^  Journal  of  Mission  Board.  Minute  for  October  11,  1833. 


34     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

neaicut,  the  town  whose  college  president  was  Dr.  Fisk.  Dr.  Fisk 
delivered  a  stirring  address  on  "The  Signs  of  the  Times."  Jason 
and  Daniel  Lee  also  spoke.  The  Wesleyan  University  student  who 
reports  this  meeting  comments  that  the  two  missionaries  "appear 
to  have  devoted  themselves  unreservedly  to  the  work  of  preaching 
the  Gospel  to  the  red  men  of  the  forest."  °^  A  week  later,  on  Sun- 
day evening,  November  17,  Lee  spoke  before  the  Missionary 
Society  at  New  Haven,  Conneaicut.  Dr.  Fisk  accompanied  the 
missionaries  to  New  Haven,  and  preached  a  "powerful"  sermon 
on  the  claims  of  the  Flathead  Mission.  The  meeting  was  decidedly 
successful,  the  donation  amounting  to  $422.71,  the  largest  col- 
leaion  during  this  tour.^^ 

Captain  Wyeth.  On  Wednesday  evening,  November  20,  a  fare- 
well meeting,®*  presided  over  by  Bishop  Hedding,  was  held  in  the 
Forsyth  Street  Church,  in  New  York  City.  Two  days  later  the 
missionaries  were  busy  with  preparations  for  their  immediate 
departure  to  St.  Louis.  Unacquainted  with  the  Far  West,  they  had 
searched  in  vain  for  some  one  familiar  with  that  region  with  whom 
they  could  travel,  and  had  finally  decided  to  begin  the  trip  alone. 
It  was  their  hope  that,  at  the  Missouri  frontier,  they  might  fall 
in  with  an  outgoing  fur-trading  expedition  bound  for  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  On  November  21,  the  day  before  departure,  fortune 
favored  them.  On  that  day  they  learned  through  Boston  news- 
papers that  Captain  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  of  Cambridge,  Massachu- 
setts, had  on  November  7  returned  to  Boston  from  his  first  journey 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  was  planning  to  make  a  second 
expedition  to  Oregon  in  the  early  spring  of  1833.  Wyeth' s  arrival 
was  regarded  as  "providential."  Going  by  way  of  Middletown, 
where  he  was  joined  by  Dr.  Fisk,  Lee  hurried  to  Boston.  From  his 
wide  experience,  Wyeth  gave  valuable  information  concerning  the 
Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  the  proposed  mission;  the  best  routes  to 
the  Flathead  country;  the  most  favorable  location  for  the  mission, 

*^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  December  6,  1833,  VIII,  p.  59. 
""^  Zion's  Herald  (Boston,  1823),  December  18,  1833,  IV,  p.  254. 
'*  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon  (San  Francisco,  1886-1888), 
I,  p.  59. 


THE  YOUNG  MISSIONARY  35 

and  the  nature  of  the  probable  reception  of  the  missionaries  by 
this  tribe  of  Indians. *"* 

Arrangements  were  made  for  the  missionaries  to  accompany 
Wyeth's  second  expedition,  which  was  to  leave  Independence, 
Missouri,  in  April,  1834.  The  brusque  but  generous  Wyeth  also 
permitted  Lee  to  ship  his  freight  on  the  Wyeth  brig,  the  May 
Dacre,  which  was  to  sail  for  Oregon  by  way  of  Cape  Horn.  This 
little  vessel,  which  left  the  port  of  Boston  in  early  January,  1834,''* 
must  have  had  a  full  cargo.  In  addition  to  Wyeth's  goods,  it 
carried  a  miscellaneous  freight  for  the  missionaries  that  comprised 
farming  implements,  tools,  household  goods,  books,  garden  seeds, 
and  live  chickens. 

Meetings  in  Boston  and  vicinity.  While  Lee  was  in  Boston  a 
well  advertised,  well  attended  missionary  meeting  was  held  on 
Friday  evening,  November  29,  at  the  Bromfield  Street  Church. 
Dr.  Fisk's  powerful,  restrained,  lawyer-like  plea  for  the  support 
of  Indian  missions  won  the  sympathies  of  the  audience  for  Jason 
Lee's  Western  mission,  but  the  feature  of  the  evening  was  the 
presence  of  Captain  N.  J.  Wyeth  on  the  platform,  accompanied 
by  two  Indian  boys  whom  he  had  brought  East  with  him.  One 
Indian  of  French  Canadian-Flathead  parentage  was  an  intelligent 
lad  about  thirteen  years  old.  The  other  was  a  Nez  Perce,  about 
twenty  years  old,  whose  head  was  decidedly  flattened.®'  Besides 
being  objeas  of  intense  curiosity,  these  two  Indians  were  of 
absorbing  interest  as  representatives  of  the  nation  recently  made 
famous  by  William  Walker's  four  Flathead  "wise  men  from  the 
West." 

Just  before  the  program  began,  Wyeth  was  handed  a  slip  of 
paper  on  which  were  written  seven  questions  relative  to  the  Flat- 
head Mission.  These  questions  and  Wyeth's  illuminating  answers 

'"'  Jason  Lee  letter,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  February  21,  1834,  VIII, 
p.  101. 

^^  The  Correspondence  and  Journal  of  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  1831-1836 
(Eugene,  1899),  p.  96. 

"'  Jason  Lee  letter,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  February  21,  1834,  VIII, 
p.  101. 


36     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

were  printed  in  the  December  4  issue  of  Zion's  Herald  as 
follows: 

1.  So  far  as  the  success  of  the  mission  is  concerned,  what  would  be 
the  most  eligible  place  for  the  commencement  of  the  enterprize  among 
the  tribes  west  of  the  mountains? 

In  reply,  Capt.  W.  stated  that  the  missionaries,  when  there,  would 
be  able  to  make  the  location  to  best  advantage  by  actual  examination ; — 
that  however,  for  the  sake  of  supplies,  &c.,  it  would  be  prudent  to  be  in 
the  neighborhood  of  some  trading  post; — that  it  should  not  be  too 
high  up  the  mountains,  lest  they  should  be  disturbed  by  the  Blackfeet 
Indians,  who  sometimes  made  excursions  over  the  moimtains.  He 
thought  probably  Kittle  Falls  on  the  Columbia,  or  on  the  Flat  Head 
River,  a  position  might  be  assumed  which  would  be  a  place  of  resort 
by  the  Indians  for  the  purpose  of  the  salmon  fishery,  and  at  the  same 
time  afford  the  other  requisite  facilities. 

2.  What  is  the  moral  and  religious  charaaer  of  the  Flat  Head  and 
neighboring  tribes? 

The  religion  of  these  tribes  is  Deism.  At  the  suggestion  of  an  Indian 
trader,  some  time  since  they  adopted  the  habit  of  observing  the  Chris- 
tian Sabbath.  .  .  .  Their  morals  are  better  than  can  be  found  in  any 
other  part  of  the  world,  probably  taking  the  whole  population  together. 
.  .  .  They  are  mild,  docile,  and  honest.  Their  principal  vice  seems 
to  be  gaming.  .  .  . 

3.  What  is  the  comparative  condition  of  females? 

About  the  same  as  that  of  the  same  sex  in  a  common  Dutch  popula- 
tion. Certain  parts  of  the  duties  of  life  are  assigned  to  the  females,  and 
other  parts  to  the  males.  .  .  . 

4.  What  is  the  domestic  charaaer  of  these  Indians? 

They  maintain  the  relation  of  husband  and  wife  with  as  much  con- 
stancy, probably  as  the  whites.  .  .  .  They  appear  to  have  no  agricul- 
ture, but  live  almost  wholly  upon  the  produaions  of  unassisted  nature. 

5.  What  chance  in  the  country  for  agriculture? 

Although  the  general  face  of  the  country,  so  far  as  observed  by  Capt. 
W.,  was  not  favorable  to  agriculture,  the  plains,  or  level  parts  being 
destitute  of  timber,  and  the  timbered  parts  being  generally  precipitous 
and  rocky,  still  seleaions  might  be  made  of  tracts  of  land  located 
favorably  as  to  the  other  objects  of  the  mission,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
affording  opportxmity  for  the  successful  cultivation  of  the  soil.  .  .  , 


THE  YOUNG  MISSIONARY  37 

6.  What  reception  would  the  missionaries  probably  meet  with  from 
the  fur  traders  and  Indians? 

The  traders  would  be  likely  to  be  friendly  in  all  cases  where  there 
would  be  no  interference  with  their  trade.  .  .  .  The  Indians  hurt  no 
man  unless  violently  provoked  to  it.  .  .  .  Any  white  man  gaining 
their  confidence,  therefore,  will  be  able  to  mould  and  fashion  them  to 
almost  any  reasonable  measures  and  principles,  of  which  their  habits, 
conditions  in  life,  and  intellectual  capacities  are  susceptible. 

7.  What  opportunity  would  the  missionaries  have  to  keep  up  a 
correspondence  with  this  country,  and  obtain  supplies? 

A  ship  goes  from  London  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river  every 
year.  A  ship  will  go  from  Boston  some  time  between  this  and  next 
September.  Occasional  parties  cross  the  mountains  from  and  to  the  U. 
States.  But  the  most  certain  way  of  correspondence  is  by  the  expresses 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  who  will  doubtless  always  forward  in 
this  manner  all  the  letters  of  the  missionaries.*'* 

A  few  days  later,  on  Sunday  evening,  December  1,  another 
missionary  meeting  was  held  at  the  Bromfield  Church.  The  two 
Indian  boys  were  again  present.  Dr.  Fisk  ably  presented  the 
reasons  why  the  Church  should  support  the  Flathead  missionary 
enterprise.  After  the  unusually  large  collection  of  $210,  the 
meeting  was  addressed  by  Jason  Lee.  A  report  of  this  meeting 
states  that  "the  house  was  crowded,  and  the  audience  remained 
through  all  the  exercises  as  if  spellbound."  *° 

The  Connecttcut  Observer,  a  semi-religious  newspaper  of  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  published  a  full  account  of  Lee's  Boston 
meeting: 

Rev.  Jason  Lee,  appointed  to  go  to  the  Flat  Heads,  was  introduced 
to  the  congregation  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fisk.  He  remarked  that  he  had 
had  a  considerable  struggle  in  his  mind  on  being  appointed  to  the 
arduous  station  to  which  he  was  called.  To  leave  friends  and  home, 
to  seclude  himself  from  civilized  society,  and  to  take  up  his  final 
earthly  abode  among  untutored  savages,  required  some  sacrifice  of  re- 
fined feeling  which  was  not  to  be  decided  upon  hastily.   His  eleaion, 

•^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  December  13,  1833,  VIII,  p.  63. 
^''Ibid. 


38     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

however,  had  been  made,  and  made  deliberately.  And  since  the  day 
of  his  decision  to  go,  had  not  once  retraaed,  nor  had  he  any  misgivings 
of  heart  in  the  view  of  his  arduous  labour.  He  did  not,  indeed,  depend 
on  his  ability  to  command  success;  but  feeling  that  he  was  pursuing 
the  path  of  duty,  he  relied  on  the  promise  of  God.  Shall  a  cause  fail, 
asked  he,  which  has  the  Divine  power  pledged  in  its  success.  It  can 
not,  it  will  not.  But  admitting  for  a  moment  that  it  should,  what  may 
be  the  plea  for  this  attempt  in  the  day  of  Judgement?  Pursuing  our 
duty,  depending  upon  Divine  grace,  shall  we  not  be  pure  from  the 
blood  of  those  whom  we  labour  to  save?  And  there  is  a  pleasure  in  the 
hope  which  we  have  of  the  recompense  of  reward.  And  this  reward, 
this  crown  of  glory,  will  not  belong  to  the  Missionary  exclusively. 
O  no!  Our  Saviour  knows  the  measure  of  reward  to  which  all  his 
servants  are  entitled,  and  he  will  reward  each  according  to  his  work. 
The  liberal  soul,  who  communicates  the  silver  and  the  gold  to  sustain 
this  Mission,  and  who  with  his  offering  presents  the  prayer  of  faith, 
will  share  the  plaudit  of  his  Redeemer.  His  prayers  and  alms  will 
come  up  before  the  Lord  as  a  precious  memorial ;  and  he  who  rewards 
the  cup  of  cold  water  given  to  a  disciple  because  he  belongs  to  Christ, 
will  say  to  each  of  his  friends,  "Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant, 
enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord!"  '" 

Cyrus  Shepard.  In  early  December,  Lee  was  in  Boston,  still  busy 
with  his  preparations.  On  December  5  he  visited  Cyrus  Shepard,  a 
public-school  teacher,  at  Weston,  Massachusetts,  a  village  a  few 
miles  west  of  Boston.  After  a  short  conference,  Shepard  was 
engaged  by  Lee  as  the  teacher  of  the  Oregon  Mission.  In  his 
diary,  under  date  of  December  5,  Shepard  made  this  feeling 
reference  to  Lee  s  visit: 

This  day  Brothers  [Rev.  John]  Lindsey  [of  Boston}  and  Lee  came 
to  see  me  in  reference  to  my  engaging  in  the  Flathead  Indian  mission. 
After  some  conversation,  I  agreed  to  go.  It  may  seem  to  some  that  I 
was  precipitate  in  making  up  my  mind  on  this  important  subject,  but 
it  is  all  known  to  myself  and  my  God.''^ 

''^  Connecticut  Observer  (Hartford,  Connecticut),  December  16,  1833. 
'^Z.  A.  Mudge,  The  Missionary  Teacher:  A  Memoir  of  Cyrus  Shepard 
(New  York,  1848),  p.  67. 


THE  YOUNG  MISSIONARY  39 

Lee  has  left  a  vivid  account  of  the  busy  days  of  preparation 
for  the  long  journey  over  the  unsurveyed  West: 

We  have  made  arrangements  to  cross  the  mountains  with  Capt.  W. 
[yeth]  whose  company  will  consist  of  about  fifty.  He  expeas  to  leave 
Liberty  (which  is  about  one  hundred  miles  above  St.  Louis)  in  April. 
From  St.  Louis  to  the  Flat  Head  country  is  about  one  thousand  five 
hundred  miles ;  thence  to  the  Pacific  nine  hundred  miles.  This  journey, 
from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  accom- 
plished, the  most  laborious  part  of  our  work  is  yet  before  us.  It  will 
still  remain  for  us  to  transport  our  outfit  nine  hundred  miles  up  the 
river  to  the  place  of  destination. 

Our  dependence  for  subsistence  is  almost  exclusively  upon  the  rifle, 
as  it  is  impossible  to  carry  provisions  for  such  a  journey  on  horseback.'^ 

Dr.  Wilbur  Fisk,  Lee's  stalwart  friend  during  these  toilsome 
days,  wrote  his  wife  this  optimistic  note  from  Boston: 

Our  visit  to  Captain  Wyeth  has  been  most  providential.  He  is  going 
out  with  a  party  in  the  spring,  and  will  take  the  missionaries  under  his 
protection.  He  will  go  quite  over  the  mountains.  He  is  a  fine  man. 
They  will  also  send  out  a  vessel  that  will  carry  any  necessary  freight. 
Much  information  has  also  been  obtained  of  great  importance  to  the 
mission.   I  cannot  state  the  details.'^' 

On  Sunday  evening,  December  15,  Lee  held  a  missionary  service 
at  Lynn,  the  home  of  Cyrus  Shepard  and  Susan  Downing,  names 
later  to  be  linked  forever  as  pioneer  missionaries  of  Old  Oregon. 
The  Lynn  Sabbath  School,  with  which  Shepard  was  for  long  iden- 
tified, showed  its  affection  for  its  teacher  by  a  donation  of  $25.45, 
of  which  $20  was  to  ''make  Mr.  Cyrus  Shepard  a  life  member  for 
Flat  Heads  Mission."  '"' 

Zwn's  Herald  published  this  graphic  account  of  the  evening 
meeting  "thronged  to  overflowing": 

■^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  February  21,  1834,  VIII,  p.  101. 
^«  Joseph  Holdick,  The  Life  of  Wilbur  Fisk,  D.D.   (New  York,   1842), 
p.  183. 

'*  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  January  31,  1834,  VIII,  p.  91. 


40     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Last  Sabbath  evening  there  was  a  most  appropriate  and  interesting 
discourse  deHvered  by  Rev.  J.  Lindsey  of  this  city,  from  Rom.  i.  16,  in 
behalf  of  the  Flat  Head  mission;  and  an  address  by  Rev.  Jason  Lee, 
Missionary  to  the  Flat  Heads.  It  was  one  of  the  most  pleasant  meetings 
ever  held  in  Lynn  of  a  missionary  charaaer.  Long  before  the  time 
appointed  to  commence,  the  house  was  thronged  to  overflowing  and 
the  audience  hung  upon  the  lips  of  the  speakers  with  such  an  interest 
that  it  could  not  be  mistaken.  The  Colleaion  did  honor  to  Lynn, — it 
amounted  to  $100.''^ 

Dorchester.  Lee  closed  his  successful  missionary  campaign  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Boston  by  holding  a  crowded  meeting 
at  the  historic  city  of  Dorchester,  now  South  Boston.  On  the  plat- 
form were  Wyeth's  two  Indian  boys,  fresh  from  their  Rocky  Moun- 
tain home.  So  great  was  the  public  interest  in  these  flat-headed 
lads  that  Lee  felt  constrained  to  send  out  an  extended  communica- 
tion concerning  them  in  the  Christian  Advocate.'"^ 

Andover.  Lee  concluded  his  lecture  tour  with  visits  to  Andover, 
seat  of  the  famous  theological  school,  where  he  received  a  dona- 
tion of  $38.83  for  the  Oregon  Mission,  and  to  Lowell,  where  the 
collection  was  $53.41.''^  At  Lowell,  he  conduaed  the  Indian  lads 
through  one  of  the  largest  manufacturing  plants.  "On  no  occa- 
sion," wrote  Lee,  "did  I  see  him  [the  older  Indian  boy]  so  much 
excited,  and  express  so  much  wonder  and  astonishment,  as  when 
I  took  him  into  one  of  the  manufacturing  establishments  at  Lowell. 
He  had  never  seen  anything  so  wonderful  and  complicated  before 
and  could  not  conceal  his  surprise."  ^® 


76 


Zion's  Herald,  December  18,  1833,  IV,  p.  254. 
'"  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  February  21,  1834,  VIII,  p.  91. 
"  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  January  31,  1834,  VIII,  p.  91. 
^®  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  February  21,  1834,  VIII,  p.  101. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON 

On  January  29,  1834,  the  Lees  left  New  York  City  for  St. 
Louis.  It  was  their  plan  to  condua  a  missionary  campaign  for 
funds  on  the  way.""  On  Sunday,  February  2,  1834,  a  successful 
meeting  was  held  in  Philadelphia,  where  they  remained  for  sev- 
eral days.  During  this  interval  Jason  Lee  visited  West  Chester, 
twenty-seven  miles  west  of  Philadelphia.  On  February  5,  Lee 
wrote  an  interesting  letter  from  Philadelphia  to  the  Christian 
Advocate  and  Journal,  in  which  he  described  Wyeth's  two  Indian 
boys."* 

Baltimore,  Washington,  D.  C,  Pittsburgh.  On  February  9,  the 
Lees  were  in  Baltimore;  they  made  also  a  hurried  trip  to  Wil- 
mington, Delaware,  and  its  immediate  vicinity.  From  Baltimore 
they  went  to  Washington,  D.  C,  where  they  temporarily  parted. 
Daniel  Lee  remained  in  the  Washington  area  in  order  to  attend 
the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference  which  convened  at  Alexandria, 
Virginia,  on  February  20,  1834.  At  this  conference  he  was 
elevated  to  the  rank  of  elder  in  the  Methodist  Church.^ 

Sunday  evening,  March  9,  Lee  addressed  a  Pittsburgh  mission- 
ary meeting.  On  the  following  Tuesday  evening  he  spoke  to  a 
second  enthusiastic  gathering  at  the  Old  Liberty  Street  Church 
of  this  same  city.  The  Pittsburgh  Conference  Journal  reported 
that  "in  the  true  spirit  of  such  an  undertaking,  Lee  addressed  the 
audience  with  great  effea  for  more  than  an  hour.  .  .  .  The  con- 
gregation listened  with  the  most  intense  interest;  many  poured 
forth  their  tears."  * 

^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  January  31,  1834,  VIII,  p.  91. 
=  Ibid.,  February  21,  1834,  VII,  p.  101. 
»  Ibid.,  April  4,  1834,  VIII,  p.  127. 
*  Ibid. 

41 


42     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Down  the  Ohio.  At  Pittsburgh  Lee  boarded  one  of  the  steam- 
boats that  plied  the  Ohio  River  between  the  "Gate  City"  and  St. 
Louis.  The  Ohio  River,  then  even  more  than  now,  was  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  of  American  rivers.  'Tor  hundreds  of  miles 
it  coils  itself  among  the  hills,  which  often  rise  in  rocky  steeps 
from  the  water's  edge,  skirted  along  the  base  and  crowned  at 
the  top  with  primeval  forest."  ^  This  pleasant  journey  took  Lee 
past  Blennerhassett's  Island,  famous  even  in  that  day  for  Aaron 
Burr's  unfortunate  landing  there  nearly  thirty  years  before. 

While  on  board  the  steamboat,  on  March  15,  he  addressed  an 
optimistic  letter  to  Osmon  C.  Baker: 

A  kind  Providence  has  watched  over  me  thus  far,  while  I  have 
been  making  preparations  for  the  Mission,  and  passing  from  city  to 
city  to  present  the  claims  and  plead  the  cause  of  the  long  negleaed 
and  much  injured  red  man  of  the  forest,  before  vast,  attentive,  and 
weeping  multitudes.  My  dear  brother,  I  go  as  Paul  went  to  Jerusalem, 
boxmd  in  spirit,  not  knowing  what  will  befall  me  there;  but,  thank 
God,  I  have  had  but  very  few  anxious  thoughts  about  anything  else, 
except  being  faithful  in  the  cause  of  Christ — that  is  enough — that 
is  2IV 

Cincinnati.  A  downstream  voyage  of  four  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  brought  the  traveler  to  Cincinnati,  the  young  and  rapidly 
growing  metropolis  of  the  Middle  West.  Here  he  was  joined 
on  March  17  by  Cyrus  Shepard,  the  lay  member  of  the  missionary 
party.''  In  Cincinnati,  Lee  and  Shepard  were  hospitably  entertained 
by  James  B.  Finley,  the  famous  Wyandotte  missionary.  Of  this 
visit,  Shepard  reported,  *Trom  him  we  obtained  much  useful  in- 
formation concerning  the  Indians,  their  customs,  habits,  and 
manners  of  life,  together  with  an  account  of  his  missionary 
operations."  ® 

Leaving  Cincinnati,  the  missionaries  continued  their  descent  of 

^  H.  W.  Elson,  Side  Lights  on  American  History.  2  vols.  (New  York, 
1899-1900),  I,  p.  123. 

*  W.  B.  Sprague,  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  VII,  p.  794. 

^  Z.  A.  Mudge,  The  Missionary  Teacher;  A  Memoir  of  Cyrus  Shepard,  p.  75. 

®  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  June  20,  1834,  VIII,  p.  170. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  43 

the  Ohio  River  to  St.  Louis,  six  hundred  and  ninety  miles  away. 
On  Saturday,  March  22,  they  stopped  at  Louisville  near  the  falls 
of  the  Ohio."  On  the  following  Tuesday,  at  the  Fourth  Street 
Church  in  that  city,  Jason  Lee  "addressed  [a  missionary]  meeting 
for  about  one  hour  in  a  strain  of  argument  and  at  times  with 
much  pathos."  " 

A  six- day  voyage  brought  the  missionaries  to  St.  Louis,  where 
they  arrived  on  March  31.  On  April  4,  Cyrus  Shepard  hurried 
forward  up  the  Missouri  River  on  the  steamboat  loway  to  Inde- 
pendence, three  hundred  miles  distant,  charged  with  the  task  of 
assembling  the  equipment  for  the  overland  journey  across  the 
plains.  Jason  Lee  remained  in  St.  Louis  to  attend  to  business  mat- 
ters relating  to  the  mission.  At  St.  Louis  he  searched  in  vain  for 
a  suitable  assistant  to  accompany  the  missionary  party." 

During  his  brief  stay  in  St.  Louis,  Jason  Lee  called  at  General 
Clark's  office,  in  response  to  an  invitation  from  Clark's  business 
agent,  who  wanted  Lee  to  assist  him  in  answering  a  questionnaire 
which  had  been  sent  out  by  an  Eastern  organization  calling  itself 
the  "Western  Colonization  Society." 

Daniel  Lee  arrived  in  St.  Louis  soon  after  Shepard' s  departure 

from  that  city.   He  called  upon  General  William  Clark,  and  had 

the  good  fortune  to  find  him  at  his  office.    The  rising  city  of 

St.  Louis,  then  as  now  the  center  of  the  fur  industry  of  the  United 

States,  must  have  held  a  strange  appeal  for  the  visitors.    Here, 

only  two  years  before,  the  Flathead  deputation  was  alleged  to  have 

made  its  pathetic  plea  to  General  Clark  for  missionaries.   Already 

an  old  town,  as  American  municipalities  go,  it  was  one  of  a  half 

dozen  American  cities  whose  founding  antedated  the  birth  of  the 

nation.  In  the  colorful  years  of  its  history  before  1834,  the  banners 

of  three  nations — Spain,   France,   and  the  United   States — had 

floated  over  its  battlements.    Along  its  quaint  streets  mingled  a 

population  of  Spaniards,  Frenchmen,  fur-trading  magnates,  voy- 

°  Samuel  Parker,  Journal  of  an  Exploring  Tour  beyond  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, 1833-6-7  (Ithaca,  New  York,  1838),  pp.  18-25. 

^^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  April  18,  1834,  VIII,  p.  134. 
"I^/^.,  June  20,  1834,  VIII,  p.  170. 


44     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

ageurs,  Eastern  visitors,  Negroes,  Indians,  and  hustling  young 
American  business  men/^ 

Though  somewhat  uneasy  "  over  the  possibility  of  arriving  at 
Independence  too  late  to  join  Wyeth's  "train,"  the  Lees  remained 
in  St.  Louis  ten  days.  On  Monday  evening,  April  7,  they  con- 
ducted one  of  the  most  spirited  missionary  meetings  that  marked 
their  successful  journey  westward.^*  The  leading  Protestant 
churches  united  in  doing  honor  to  these  two  volunteers  who  were 
risking  their  lives  to  respond  to  the  Macedonian  cry  from  beyond 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  Threats  of  rain  did  not  prevent  a  large  con- 
gregation from  assembling  at  the  Methodist  church  in  which  the 
farewell  service  was  held.  After  a  prayer  by  the  local  Episcopal 
clergyman,  Jason  Lee  in  a  "forcible"  manner  gave  a  brief  outline 
of  the  origin  of  the  mission  and  his  own  appointment  as  "Mission- 
ary to  the  Flat  Heads."  " 

The  Lees  cross  Missouri.  On  Wednesday  afternoon,  April  9, 
Jason  and  Daniel  Lee  set  out  on  horseback  for  Liberty,  Missouri, 
about  three  hundred  miles  from  St.  Louis,  there  to  join  the  com- 
panies of  Captain  Wyeth  and  Sublette.  On  their  way  they  called 
on  Rev.  A.  Munroe,  of  the  Missouri  Conference,  who  lived  eighty- 
five  miles  west  of  St.  Louis.  He  afterwards  reported  the  mission- 
aries to  be  "in  good  health  and  spirits."  ^* 

The  diary  of  Jason  Lee  and  the  nearly  contemporaneous  account 
of  Daniel  Lee  are  both  silent  as  to  their  experiences  during  the 
greater  portion  of  that  journey,  doubtless  owing  to  the  fatigue 
incident  to  the  long  and  unaccustomed  horseback  riding.  After 
reaching  the  town  of  Liberty,  near  Independence,  Jason  Lee  again 
resumed  his  diary  entries.   Since  both  uncle  and  nephew  exhibit  a 

^^  It  was  founded  in  1764  by  Pierre  Laclede  Liguest.  Chittenden,  The 
American  Fur  Trade  of  the  Far  West,  I,  p.  101. 

^*  Wyeth' s  Journal,  II,  p.  130.  "Wyeth  wrote  Lee  from  New  York  on 
February  14,  1834:  "I  leave  this  city  to-morrow  morning  and  will  proceed 
direaly  west  and  remain  but  five  or  six  days  in  St.  Louis."  Again,  on  April  17, 
1834,  Wyeth  states  in  a  letter  to  Tucker  and  Williams,  Boston:  "There  are 
none  of  the  Dignitaries  with  me  as  yet  and  if  they  'preach'  much  longer  in  the 
States  they  will  lose  their  passage  and  I  will  not  wait  a  minute  for  them." 

^*  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  May  9,  1834,  VIII,  p.  146. 

^^Ibid.  "■"  Zion's  Herald,  May  14,  1834,  p.  79. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  45 

decided  capacity  for  plain  and  sincere  narrative  it  is  a  cause  for 
regret  that  they  failed  to  journalize  their  April  odyssey  of  a 
century  ago. 

Jason  Lee  informs  us  that  he  and  his  nephew  reached  Liberty 
on  the  western  frontier  of  Missouri  on  Sunday  evening,  April  20, 
1834/'  Only  one  week  and  a  day  remained  within  which  to 
complete  preparations  for  their  two  thousand  and  twenty-mile 
journey  over  the  Oregon  Trail.  Mr.  Wyeth,  the  leader  of  the 
overland  train,  was  an  efficient  business  man,  and  adhered  to  a  pre- 
arranged schedule.  Every  member  of  the  cavalcade  knew  that  his 
signal  would  set  in  motion  the  seventy  men  and  two  hundred  and 
fifty  horses,  mules,  and  cattle  of  his  caravan  on  their  way  over 
the  rolling  prairies  of  present  western  Kansas. 

Despite  the  feverish  bustle  and  excitement  of  that  last  week  "in 
civilization,"  Jason  Lee's  diary  refleas  the  tranquil  spirit  of  a  man 
purposefully  but  serenely  at  work.  On  Sunday  evening,  at  Liberty, 
Missouri,  a  town  lying  about  nine  miles  northwest  of  Independ- 
ence, he  addressed  an  evening  meeting  in  the  Courthouse  Square. 
About  halfway  through  the  service,  a  windstorm  came  up  and 
frightened  the  people  away.  Lee  pronounced  the  blessing,  and 
closes  his  diary  entry  with  the  comment  that  "he  did  not  appre- 
hend any  danger."  ^^  Many  other  diary  entries  and  the  testimony 
of  many  witnesses  attest  that  Jason  Lee  possessed  "more  than  a 
hero's  courage"  and  "more  than  a  martyr's  fortitude,"  and  that  he 
freely  exhibited  these  qualities  during  the  forty-one  years  of  his 
eventful  life. 

Independence,  Missouri.  On  April  22  they  arrived  at  Inde- 
pendence, the  eastern  terminus  of  the  Oregon  Trail,  and  to-day 
a  suburb  of  Kansas  City,  Missouri.  Then  it  was  an  excited,  bus- 
tling rendezvous  that  catered  to  the  caravans  which  traveled  over 
both  the  Santa  Fe  and  Oregon  trails.  The  brisk  trafficking  in 
horses  and  mules  and  in  supplies  for  camping  parties  was  an 
interesting   feature  of  the  noisy  town.    Townsend  was  much 

^'  Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  116. 
"■^Ibid, 


46     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

impressed  by  the  sights  and  sounds  he  witnessed  there.  He  con- 
fesses a  shocked  surprise  when  a  rough  fellow  approached  him 
with  the  question:  "Stranger,  what  for  a  gun  you  carry?"  ^®  Jason 
Lee,  however,  with  his  accustomed  tranquillity  refleas  that  he  is 
"thankful  that  we  arrived  safe  without  accident  to  the  place  where 
we  were  to  prepare  for  our  overland  trip/'  *° 

Lay  assistants.  It  was  the  opinion  of  those  familiar  with  the 
Oregon  country  that  the  missionaries  could  not  transport  their 
supplies  with  less  than  five  men.  Lee  had  been  successful  in  secur- 
ing one  lay  assistant  in  St.  Louis.  As  it  was  vital  that  assistants  be 
engaged  before  leaving  civilization,  Daniel  Lee  now  sought  them 
in  the  neighboring  town  of  Richmond,  Missouri,  and  on  April  24, 
1834,  succeeded  in  engaging,  as  lay  assistants,  Philip  L.  Edwards 
and  Courtney  M.  Walker.  Edwards  was  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
two  who  possessed  qualities  of  leadership  and  ability.  Jason  Lee 
refers  to  him  as  a  "genteel,  well-informed  young  man,  and  .  .  . 
a  valuable  acquisition  to  our  company."  ^^  Courmey  M.  Walker 
was  engaged  as  mission  business  agent  for  one  year.^^  Lee  reports 
that  although  a  non-professor  of  religion  "he  is  just  such  a  man 
as  we  need  to  assist  us,  being  acquainted  with  Indian  life  and  the 
mode  of  travel  we  have  to  pursue."  ^^ 

Townsend  is  rather  frank  in  his  expression  of  the  reasons  why 
these  young  fellows  joined  the  missionary  group.  "They  have 
arrayed  themselves  under  the  missionary  banner,"  explains  Town- 
send,  "chiefly  for  the  gratification  of  seeing  a  new  country,  and 
participating  in  strange  adventures."  ^* 

On  the  Saturday  preceding  the  Monday  on  which  Lee  left 
civilization,  he  purchased  additional  horses  and  a  small  band  of 
cows.^^  These  cows  were  the  first  to  travel  over  the  greater  portion 

^®  John  K.  Townsend,  Narrative  of  a  Journey  Across  the  Rocky  Mountains 
(Philadelphia,  1839),  p.  137. 

^°  Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  116. 

^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  June  13,  1834,  VII,  p.  166. 

^^  Harvey  Scott,  "J^^son  Lee  Address,"  in  Scott's  History  of  the  Oregon 
Country  (Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  1924),  I,  p.  24. 

^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  June  13,  1834,  VII,  p.  166. 

^*  Townsend,  Narrative,  p.  138. 

^^  Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  116. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  47 

of  the  Oregon  Trail.  Lee  drove  two  of  them  from  Independence 
to  Fort  Walla  Walla,  a  distance  of  1,800  miles.'"  The  last  Satur- 
day night  on  the  Missouri  frontier  was  spent  as  the  guest  of  a  man 
named  Rickman,  who  entertained  him  kindly.  "He  took  nothing," 
says  Jason  Lee,  "for  our  entertainment." 

Lee  expresses  regret  in  one  of  his  last  entries  before  departure 
that  he  was  unable  to  accept  an  invitation  to  preach  at  Independ- 
ence, but  he  was  fearful  that  the  punailious  Captain  Wyeth  might 
set  his  cavalcade  in  motion  and  leave  the  missionaries  in  the  lurch. 
He  spent  his  last  Sabbath  "in  the  States"  as  the  guest  of  an  Inde- 
pendence preacher  named  Ferrell,  who  proved  a  hospitable  host 
and  donated  a  supply  of  corn  for  his  guest's  horses. '^ 

After  a  busy  week  spent  "in  rigging  packs  and  pack  saddles"  '^ 
and  in  making  other  provision  for  their  journey,  the  missionaries 
found  themselves  ready  at  last  on  Sunday,  April  27,  1834. 

Departure  from  St.  Louis.  At  ten  o'clock  the  next  morning,  the 
picturesque  train  began  its  march.  Captain  Wyeth  and  that  other 
seasoned  warrior  of  the  plains,  Milton  Sublette,  sounded  the  words 
of  command  from  the  front,  while  Jason  Lee,  leading  his  horned 
cattle,  brought  up  the  rear  guard  of  this  speaacular  cavalcade. 
Amid  songs  and  laughter  and  imrestrained  enthusiasm  the  com- 
pany filed  its  way  over  the  rolling  foothills  toward  the  "lands 
where  the  sunsets  go."  ** 

The  Indian  country.  The  Lees  were  now  in  that  great  region 
of  the  unsurveyed  West  known  as  the  Indian  country.  According 
to  Daniel  Lee  they  were  well  equipped  for  the  many  dangers  in- 
cident to  their  journey.  He  describes  the  company  as  "mounted  on 
horses  and  mules,  and  armed  with  rifles.  Most  of  them  had  each 
a  powder  horn  or  a  flask,  a  large  leathern  pouch  for  bullets  hung 
at  his  side,  and  buckled  close  to  his  body  with  a  leathern  belt,  in 
which  hung  a  scabbard  of  the  same  material,  bearing  a  'scalping 
knife,'  that  savage  weapon  whose  very  name  is  a  terror."  ^°  Near 

*^  Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade,  I,  p.  480. 

*'  Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  116. 

^^Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  114. 

*'  Townsend,  Narrative,  pp.  l4l,  142. 

®*Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  114. 


48     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

the  site  of  the  modern  city  of  Topeka/^  Kansas,  the  cavalcade 
moving  northwesterly  crossed  the  Kansas  River.   Their  route  now 
lay  across  the  northwestern  corner  of  modern  Kansas. 
In  his  diary  entry  of  Saturday,  May  3,  1834,  Lee  wrote: 

The  company  soon  came  up  and  immediately  set  about  crossing  the 
Kansas  River  in  a  flatboat.  I  crossed  with  ours  the  first  load.  ...  Sat 
down  to  finish  some  letters  to  send  back  by  the  waggoner  who  had 
accompanied  us  from  Independence.^^ 

One  of  the  three  letters  that  Lee  wrote  on  that  May  day  of  a 
century  ago  was  to  Dr.  Wilbur  Fisk.  After  reposing  in  a  lost  file 
of  Dr.  Fisk's  correspondence  for  nearly  one  hundred  years,  it 
reached  the  present  writer  on  February  28,  1931,  yellowed  with 
age,  but  sound;  and  bearing  on  its  last  page  a  postmark  indicating 
a  postage  charge  of  twenty-five  cents.  The  historic  letter  reads  as 
follows : 

Missionary  Tent  Mi.   Territory  May  2,  1834 
My  Dear  Brother 

When  at  Cincinnati  I  wrote  Brother  Patten  and  Br.  Wakeman  and 
requested  them  to  ask  you  to  write  us  St.  Louis  and  write  themselves 
but  was  very  much  disappointed  in  not  hearing  from  any  of  you.  I 
have  not  received  a  line  from  M.  since  I  left.  I  saw  a  letter  you  wrote 
Br.  Anderson  in  Louisvill  mentioning  that  a  good  work  was  breaking 
out  there  which  rejoiced  me  much.  I  was  hoping  we  should  get  a  few 
days  after  preparing  our  outfit  to  write  to  our  friends  but  we  had  scarely 
time  to  get  prepared  so  that  I  have  been  able  to  write  but  one  letter 
since  leaving  St.  Louis  until  to-day.  We  are  about  7  miles  from  Kansas 
River  and  Agency  which  is  the  last  we  shall  see.  The  Caw  or  Kansas 
Indians  who  are  a  party  that  broke  off  from  the  Osage  Tribe  are  en- 
camped a  little  distance  from  us  and  all  about  our  encampment.  They 
are  most  miserable  looking  animals  men  and  women  half  naked  and 
children  as  naked  as  they  were  born. 

I  visited  Bro.  Johnson  at  the  Shawnee  Mission  and  am  well  pleased 
with  the  Indians  there  they  have  good  farms  horses  cows  hogs  com- 

* ^  Chittenden,  T/je  American  Fur  Trade,  I,  p.  465. 

*^  Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  118. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  49 

fortable  houses  and  are  gaining  property  fast.  We  have  five  in  our 
company  now.  It  was  however  with  no  small  difficulty  that  we  found 
any  one.  It  was  the  decided  opinion  of  our  friends  in  St.  Louis  and 
all  of  the  Traders  who  had  any  knowledge  on  the  subject  that  less 
than  five  could  not  get  our  goods  up  the  Columbia  without  unparaled 
labour  and  therefore  when  the  way  opened  to  procure  two  men  I  took 
them  without  hesitation.  Bro.  Finley  of  Cincinnati  says  we  ought  to 
have  a  dozen  at  least. 

May  3.  I  commenced  this  last  night  after  writing  two  others  by  a 
piece  of  candle  beged  from  Capt.  Wyeth  but  it  failed  and  I  was  obliged 
to  postpone  this,  we  started  early  this  morning  and  have  just  crossed 
the  Kansas.  The  horses  and  most  of  Capt.  W.  goods  are  on  the  other 
side.  I  am  sitting  on  the  green  grass  with  six  Indians  lying  within 
three  feet  facing  me  and  watching  me,  one  is  painted  red  face  head 
ears  and  beeds  that  are  attached  to  them.  They  have  blankets  and  look 
a  little  better  than  those  we  saw  below.  The  wind  blows  hard  and  I 
find  this  rather  an  awkward  place  to  write. 

We  have  collected  for  the  Mission  since  we  left  N.  Y.  $1,262.33 
and  expended  $1,091.16. 

There  are  now  twenty  Indians  within  6  feet  of  me,  and  they  are 
coming  from  every  quarter.  Who,  who,  will  volunteer  to  come  and 
sound  the  trump  of  salvation  among  them.  May  God  in  his  mercy 
thrust  out  some  who  will  not  count  their  lives  dear  unto  themselves 
but  spend  them  in  the  service  of  the  Red  Men.  We  get  on  finely  but 
are  in  the  most  profane  company  I  think  that  I  was  ever  in.  The 
Agent  General  Clark  cousin  to  General  Clark  of  St.  Louis  is  not  at 
home. 

We  shall  encamp  near  here  to  night  and  when  we  leave  they  shall 
progress  with  greater  velocity. 

I  have  had  a  hard  time  in  making  preparation  for  our  journey  but 
are  pretty  well  fitted  for  the  trip. 

An  Indian  who  speaks  good  english  and  who  has  been  among  the 
Flat  Heads  just  asked  me  if  we  were  going  to  try  what  virtue  there  is 
in  them  and  when  answered  in  the  affirmative  remarked,  "I  must  say 
they  are  the  best  people  in  the  world."  They  have  just  examined  our 
Middltown  gun  and  seem  much  pleased  with  it.  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  our  journey  to  the  Pacific  will  not  be  very  arduous,  though  \x.  will 
be  long  and  somewhat  wearisome.    I  sleep  as  sound  and  as  sweetly 


50     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

as  when  in  a  feather  bed.  My  health  is  good,  my  appetite  is  such  that 
I  can  eat  any  thing  we  have  flower  and  bacon  enough  to  last  some 
weeks.  If  the  good  Lord  smile  upon  us  we  shall  be  able  to  accomplish 
the  thing  whereunto  the  Church  and  we  trust  the  great  Head  of  the 
Church  has  sent  us.  Give  my  love  to  all  friends.  Especially  to  the 
officers  of  the  University  and  members  of  the  Missionary  Soc. 
The  man  who  carries  this  back  to  Independance, 

Yours  etc. 

J.  Lee. 

The  Platte  River.  The  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  of 
rolling  prairie  lying  between  the  Kansas  and  Platte  rivers  is  de- 
scribed by  Daniel  Lee  as  "very  beautiful."  "  On  May  18,  the 
travelers  reached  the  Platte  River,'*  with  whose  great  course  are 
associated  so  many  episodes  and  tragedies  of  the  fur-trading  period 
then  in  the  heyday  of  its  prosperity.  The  missionaries  trail  inter- 
sected the  Platte  about  twenty  miles  east  of  Grand  Island,  located 
somewhat  south  of  a  point  near  the  center  of  the  present  state  of 
Nebraska.  The  Platte,  impressive  in  its  length  and  width,  appealed 
to  the  company.  The  journals  of  the  Lees  and  Townsend's  Narra- 
tive devote  numerous  entries  to  its  description. 

Daniel  Lee's  account,  written  a  decade  after  his  Western  expedi- 
tion, and  when  interest  in  the  Oregon  question  was  acute,  provides 
fuller  descriptions  of  natural  features  than  does  the  faithful  but 
somewhat  more  introspeaive,  contemporaneous  diary  of  his  uncle. 
Daniel  Lee  informs  us: 

The  Platte,®^  as  its  name  implies,  is  very  shallow,  and  in  some  places 
more  than  a  mile  wide.  The  bottom  is  quicksand,  and  in  fording,  it 
is  necessary  to  keep  in  motion  to  prevent  sinking.  The  water  has  a 
whitish  appearance,  and  a  thick  sediment  will  deposit  itself  in  a  vessel 
in  which  it  stands.  The  banks  are  low,  and  a  level  bottom,  covered 
generally  with  grass,  extends  a  mile,  more  or  less,  on  either  side, 
terminated  by  hills.   The  country  is  destitute  of  timber.*" 

"^  Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  115. 

®*Townsend,  Narrative,  p.  157. 

®  ^  Platte,  feminine  gender  of  the  French  adjective  meaning  flat  or  shallow. 

*^  Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  116. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  51 

A  hunter's  wonderland.  After  a  four  days'  journey  westward 
along  the  south  shore  of  the  Platte  the  expedition  found  itself 
in  the  long-anticipated  bison  country.  The  youthful  Townsend 
informs  us  that  on  the  afternoon  of  May  20  he  "came  in  sight  of 
a  large  gang  of  the  long-coveted  buffalo."  ^^  Within  the  space  of 
a  few  days  in  the  region  of  the  forks  of  the  Platte  there  appeared 
before  their  eager  eyes  a  herd  of  buffalo  which  covered  with  their 
shaggy  blackness  an  area  in  excess  of  ten  miles  in  length  and 
eight  miles  wide.^^  But  in  addition  to  this  "incalculable  multi- 
tude," they  saw  on  those  "interminable  green  plains"  ^^  bands  of 
enormous-sized  elk,  veritable  monarchs  of  the  prairie. 

On  the  Oregon  Trail.  Had  Jason  Lee  been  able  to  choose  the 
time  for  his  Oregon  journey,  he  could  not  have  seleaed  a  year 
more  colorful  in  the  history  of  the  Far  West  than  the  year  1834. 
The  Oregon  Trail  was  but  a  dimly  blazed  traders'  path.  Crossed 
and  recrossed  by  the  tracks  of  countless  buffalo  and  other  wild 
animals,  *°  it  stretched  away  indefinitely  to  the  westward  through 
the  habitats  of  numerous  Indian  tribes.  On  his  westward  pilgrim- 
age, he  passed,  in  process  of  construaion,  trading  posts  destined 
later  to  become  historic  landmarks  of  the  West.*^ 

Across  the  map  of  the  vast  region  he  was  entering  lay  a  nomen- 
clature suggestive  of  the  golden  age  of  the  trapper;  for  the  year 
1834  marked  a  peak  period  in  the  history  of  the  British  and 
American  fur  trade  of  the  trans-Mississippi  West.*^  On  the  May 
day  on  which  Jason  Lee  reached  the  forks  of  the  Platte,  he  began, 
by  a  long  and  almost  imperceptible  ascent,  a  journey  toward  the 
mountain  region  which  formed  the  eastern  border  of  the  Far 
Western  trapping  fields.  On  every  hand  were  piauresque 
memorials  of  trapper  and  trader.  He  was  a  firsthand  observer  of 
beaver  streams,  voyageurs,  and  horse  brigades;  of  towering  moun- 

'■^  Townsend,  Narrative,  p.  159. 
""^Ibid.,  p.  161. 
^Ubid.,  p.  173. 

*°  H.  K.  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  p.  62. 
*  ^  The  construction  of  Fort  Laramie  and  Fort  Hall  were  both  begun  in 
1834. 

*^  Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade,  I,  p.  364. 


52     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

tains  and  floor-like  prairies;  of  gently  flowing,  shrub-embowered 
streams,  and  rivers  whose  torrential  waters  roared  through  lava 
deserts  and  over  foaming  cataraas.*^  The  complexity  of  mountain, 
river,  and  plain  which  lay  between  him  and  his  destination  was  a 
revelation  to  the  New  England  clergyman,  familiar  with  a  land 
where  nature  had  wrought  on  a  smaller  and  gentler  plan. 

Effect  of  the  new  environment.  As  Jason  Lee's  Eastern  home 
receded  into  the  distance  that  lay  behind,  he  gradually  but  surely 
experienced  a  new  intellectual  birth,  gained  a  broader  moral  out- 
look. By  an  almost  unconscious  progress  he  found  himself  freed 
from  the  provincial  conventionalism  of  his  boyhood  environment. 
Frances  Fuller  Viaor,  Oregon  historian,  writing  under  the  name 
of  Bancroft,  bears  eloquent  testimony  to  the  play  of  this  new  en- 
vironment upon  the  widening  mental  horizons  of  Jason  Lee.  This 
appraisal  carries  with  it  all  the  greater  interest  because  Methodist 
writers  charge  Mrs.  Viaor  with  having  written  unsympathetically 
of  Jason  Lee  and  his  Willamette  missionary  enterprise.** 

On  the  way  the  elder  Lee  conduaed  himself  so  as  to  command  the 
respea  of  all  religious  and  irreligious.  The  character  of  the  man  un- 
folded in  beauty  and  fragrance  under  the  stimulating  prairie  sun.  No 
discipline  of  lecture-room,  general  ministration,  or  other  experience 
could  have  been  so  valuable  a  preparation  for  the  duties  awaiting  him 
at  his  destination  as  the  rude  routine  of  these  overland  days.  It  seemed 
to  him  as  if  his  theological  sea  had  suddenly  become  boundless,  and 
he  might  sail  unquestioned  whithersoever  the  winds  should  carry  him. 
It  was  delightful,  this  cutting  loose  from  conventionalisms,  for  even 

*^  Chittenden,  the  American  Fur  Trade,  II,  784.  Reference  is  to  Snake  River 
in  southern  Idaho. 

**Rev.  James  "W.  Bashford,  Oregon  Missions  (New  York,  1918),  p.  13 
and  passim.  Bashford  was  a  Methodist  Bishop.  He  writes:  "But  the  most 
serious  defect,  and  in  our  judgment,  the  only  serious  fault  of  Bancroft's  vol- 
umes, is  the  bias  sometimes  revealed  in  his  judgment  of  various  actors.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Bancroft  reveals  a  cynical  tendency  which  is  to  be  deplored."  On  p.  16, 
he  states:  "But  in  his  reaaion  against  extravagant  claims  for  the  mission- 
aries, we  think  Bancroft  went  too  far — ^not  in  publishing  faas,  but  in  misin- 
terpreting them.  Our  readers  will  be  prepared  for  the  occasional  misjudg- 
ment  of  the  efforts  of  missionaries  from  reading  his  false  and  antiquated  esti- 
mate of  missionary  work  in  general,  though  even  here  he  shows  a  desire  to 
be  fair." 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  53 

Methodist  preachers  are  men.  Not  that  there  was  present  any  inclina- 
tion toward  a  relaxation  of  principles,  as  is  the  case  with  so  many  on 
leaving  home  and  all  its  healthful  restraint;  on  the  contrary,  he  felt 
himself  more  than  ever  the  chosen  of  God,  as  he  was  thus  brought 
nearer  him  in  nature  where  he  was  sustained  and  guarded  by  day,  and 
at  night  enfolded  in  his  starry  covering.  Fires,  both  physical  and  men- 
tal, blazed  brightly,  and  he  was  not  one  whit  behind  the  most  efficient 
of  this  company  in  willingness,  ability,  and  courage.  Nor  were  his 
associates  broad-collared,  long-haired,  puritanical,  prayer-mongers, 
but  wide  awake,  hearty,  and  sympathetic  men,  bent  on  saving  souls  and 
having  a  good  time.*^ 

Fort  Laramie.  In  the  last  days  of  May,  1834,  the  Lees  were 
entering  the  eastern  portion  of  the  present  state  of  Wyoming.  On 
June  1  they  crossed  the  swiftly  flowing  Laramie  River  "without 
difficulty,"  according  to  Townsend.*^  In  this  vicinity  Jason  Lee 
witnessed  the  construction  of  the  future  Fort  Laramie,  famous  in 
the  annals  of  the  Oregon  Trail,  and  destined  to  become  an  impor- 
tant frontier  military  post.*'  Wyeth,  in  his  matter-of-faa  and  badly 
spelled  journal,  states  that  near  the  point  where  his  company  forded 
this  "clear  and  beautiful  stream"  *^  he  "found  thirteen  of  Sub- 
lette's *'  men  camped  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  fort."  ^°  Jason 
Lee  notes  the  additional  faa  that  Sublette's  men  were  planting 
corn  in  the  vicinity." 

Independence  Rock.  On  June  9,  the  missionaries  reached  Inde- 
pendence Rock,  a  notable  landmark  of  the  Oregon  Trail.    This 

*^  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  I,  p.  61. 

Frances  Fuller  Victor  is  above  referred  to  as  the  author  of  Bancroft's 
History  of  Oregon,  in  two  volumes.  It  is  now  known  that  she  wrote  these 
two  volumes  in  their  entirety.  See  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  IV,  pp.  287-364. 

**Townsend,  Narrative,  p.  181. 
.    *^  Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade,  II,  p.  770. 

*  ^  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft,  History  of  Nevada,  Colorado,  and  Wyoming, 
1540-1888  (San  Francisco,  1890),  p.  683. 

*  ®  William  L.  Sublette,  one  of  four  brothers  famous  in  the  American  fur 
trade.  In  1834,  William  Sublette  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Sublette  & 
Campbell,  a  firm  which  later  acquired  wealth  from  their  trading  operations, 
Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade,  I,  pp.  254,  255. 

""Wyeth,  Journal,  Eugene,  Oregon,  1899,  p.  223. 

''^  Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  130. 


54     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

'lofty  monument,"  as  Father  De  Smet  ^^  describes  it,  stood  in 
impressive  isolation  on  the  desert.  The  accurate  Chittenden  states 
that  it  marked  a  point  on  the  trail  eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
miles  from  the  Missouri  frontier/^  This  immense  oval  block  of 
rock  covered  rwenty-seven  acres  and  at  its  highest  point  stood  one 
hundred  and  fifty-five  feet  above  the  river  level/*  Surrounded  on 
every  side  by  monotonous  stretches  of  sage-covered  desert,  it 
seemed  to  spring  from  the  depths  of  space/ ^  Praaically  all  the 
members  of  Wyeth's  train  reveal  the  fallibility  of  the  human  eye  in 
estimating  distances  in  their  attempts  to  guess  the  altitude  of  this 
rock.  Daniel  Lee's  estimate  is  between  twenty  and  thirty  feet;  ^^ 
the  careful  Townsend's,  fifty  feet;  ^'  while  Jason  Lee's  more  accu- 
rate guess  is  seventy-five  feet.^^  Cyrus  Shepard  hazarded  the  guess 
that  Independence  Rock  rose  "from  ninety  to  one  hundred  feet 
above  the  level  plain."  ^°  As  early  as  1834,  Townsend  states,  the 
smooth,  perpendicular  sides  of  this  rock  began  to  bear  the  inscrip- 
tions of  famous  names  in  the  fur  trade.  Townsend  saw  carved  on 
it  the  names  of  such  bourgeois  of  the  trapping  fraternity  as  the 
two  Sublettes  ®°  and  Captain  B.  L.  E.  Bonneville,  whose  Western 
wanderings  were  to  be  immortalized  a  few  years  later  by  the  golden 
pen  of  Washington  Irving.  There  appeared  also  the  name  of 
Michael  Lamie  Cerre,  Bonneville's  agent  in  his  expedition  of 
1832-35,  already  a  St.  Louis  fur  magnate  and  allied  by  marriage 
to  the  famous  house  of  Chouteau.  Another  name  carved  on  this 
"Great  Register  of  the  Desert,"  to  use  another  of  Father  De  Smet's 
pertinent  appellations,  was  that  of  Lucien  Fontenelle,  a  "brigade" 
leader  whose  biography  sparkles  with  episodes  unusual  even  for  the 
men  of  his  day  and  time. 

On  June  10,  the  missionary  party  caught  their  first  view  of  the 

^  ^  Hiram  M.  Chittenden  and  A.  T.  Richardson,  Life,  Letters  and  Travels  of 
Father  P.  De  Smet  (New  York,  1905),  IV,  p.  1349. 
^'Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade,  I,  p.  471. 
^"^Ibid.,  I,  p.  471. 
^^Ihid.,  I,  p.  471. 

°*  Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  117. 
^ '^  Townsend,  Narrative,  p.  183. 

^^  Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  132. 
^"^  Zion's  Herald,  September  24,  1834,  V,  p.  154. 
*°  William  L.  and  Milton  Sublette. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  55 

Rocky  Mountains,  known  in  this  seaion  of  the  range  as  the  Wind 
River  Mountains.  Townsend  tells  us  that,  although  ninety  miles 
distant  to  the  westward,  their  snowy  summits  shimmered  with 
dazzling  whiteness." 

Big  game.  This  naturalist-historian  has  also  recorded  a  real- 
istic account  of  the  big  game  which  he  saw  as  the  party  ascended 
the  Sweetwater  River.  The  wild  mountain  sheep,  described  by 
him  as  "hairy,"  intrigued  his  interest.  He  saw  them  dancing  on 
the  distant  crags,  but  always  safely  out  of  rifle  range.  A  huge 
grizzly  bear  was  discovered  in  a  clump  of  willows.  An  amateur 
but  ambitious  young  hunter  in  the  cavalcade  undertook  to  kill  him. 
The  young  man's  shot,  fired  at  close  range,  merely  wounded  and 
irritated  the  bear,  which  darted  from  his  covert  and  pursued  the 
terrified  hunter  for  about  half  a  mile. 

The  "greenhorn"  was  rescued  by  about  a  dozen  members  of 
the  train,  whose  combined  volleys  toppled  the  grizzly  over.  A 
short  distance  to  the  westward  large  herds  of  buffalo  were  seen 
grazing  on  the  short,  dry  grasses  of  this  region.  Domestic  cattle 
would  have  starved  to  death  on  this  kind  of  range  forage,  according 
to  Townsend. 

Sout/j  Pass.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  although  the  watchful 
Townsend  crossed  the  South  Pass  on  June  14,  his  journal  entry 
makes  no  reference  to  the  famous  gateway  of  the  mountains, 
Daniel  Lee's  account,  also  based  on  journal  entries  made  on  the 
spot,  likewise  has  no  specific  reference  to  this  wide  gap  in  the 
Continental  Divide. 

The  journal  of  the  busy  and  business-like  Wyeth  has  no  entry 
for  June  14,  South  Pass  day,  but  does  contain  a  record  of  his 
doings  for  June  13  and  June  15.  Chittenden,  the  painstaking 
engineer,  and  later  the  historian  of  the  American  fur  trade,  has  a 
clear  explanation  as  to  why  South  Pass  was  crossed  without  com- 
ment by  the  Wyeth  train.  Chittenden  writes  that  the  "pass  itself, 
as  a  natural  feature,  is  perhaps  less  striking  and  interesting  than 
any  other.  It  is  less  than  7,500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  It 
is  one  of  the  few  passes  that  are  free  from  timber.  There  is  not 
•*  Townsend,  Narrative,  p.  184. 


56     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

a  well-defined  gorge  through  the  hills,  but  a  broad,  open  valley 
of  so  gentle  slope  that  Fremont  in  his  explorations  was  in  doubt 
what  was  the  highest  point.  As  a  praaicable  pass  either  for  a 
highway  or  a  railroad,  it  could  hardly  be  surpassed."  ^^  This  same 
trained  writer  makes  this  additional  observation: 

It  is  everywhere  a  line  of  deep  sentimental  interest,  for  it  is  not  easy 
to  realize  that,  from  points  so  close  together,  streams  should  flow  to 
destinations  so  widely  separated.  Little  as  the  coimtry  may  vary  in  its 
aspect  on  one  side  from  that  on  the  other,  the  imagination  sees  a  dif- 
ference, and  the  early  traveler  always  considered  himself  "across  the 
Rocky  Mountains"  when  he  had  passed  this  dividing  line.'* 

The  journal  of  Joel  Palmer,  a  later  Oregon  Trail  immigrant, 
well  illustrates  the  sentimental  interest  which  South  Pass  aroused 
in  the  imaginations  of  the  weary  and  dust-covered  pioneers. 
Palmer,  in  the  itinerary  or  time-table  at  the  end  of  his  journal, 
itemizes  points  along  the  trail  for  the  benefit  of  other  prospeaive 
ox-team  drivers  in  this  fashion:  "Independence  Rock;  on  Sweet 
Water;  Devil's  Gate:  up  Sweet  Water  to  South  Pass  (good  camps) ; 
over  the  dividing  ridge  to  Pacific  Spring,  the  waters  of  which  run 
into  Green  river.  .   .   .  HERE,  HAIL  OREGON!"  '' 

In  the  body  of  his  journal,  the  genial  Indiana  farmer.  Palmer, 
drawing  freely  on  his  imagination,  makes  this  colorful  comment 
on  the  South  Pass: 

This  morning  we  ascended  the  bank  on  the  south  side  of  the  Sweet 
Water.  Six  miles  brought  us  again  to  the  creek,  where  is  good  grass 
in  the  bottom  and  willow  for  fuel.  We  crossed,  went  up  the  bottom 
two  miles,  and  crossed  back  and  left  the  Sweet  Water.  This  day  we 
passed  over  the  dividing  ridge  which  separates  the  waters  flowing  into 
the  Atlantic  from  those  which  find  their  way  into  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
WE  HAD  REACHED  THE  SUMMIT  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUN- 
TAINS. Six  miles  brought  us  to  a  spring,  the  waters  of  which  run 
into  Green  River,  or  the  great  Colorado  of  the  West.  Here,  we  hailed 
OREGON.«  = 

«^  Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade,  I,  p.  475.  "'  Ibid.,  II,  p.  726. 

^^  Palmer's  Journal  (Cincinnati,  1847),  p.  279.  ^^  Ibid.,  p.  71. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  57 

Jason  Lee,  although  introspeaive  and  dreaming  of  future  mis- 
sionary conquests,  was  the  only  member  of  Wyeth's  caravan  to 
make  specific  reference  to  the  unusual  topographical  features  at 
this  point  of  the  trail.  On  Saturday,  June  14,  Lee  informs  us  that 
he  had  breakfast  of  "roasted  buffalo,  poor  water."  He  then  adds: 
"We  feel  no  want  of  bread  and  I  am  more  healthy  than  I  have 
been  for  some  years."  ** 

Continental  Divide.  On  Sunday,  June  15,  Jason  Lee  writes  of 
the  Continental  Divide:  "Here  we  are  now  on  the  height  of  land 
the  dividing  ridge  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.  Our  rise  has 
been  gradual  most  of  the  way  and  we  have  not  ascended  any  such 
Mountains  as  I  anticipated  having  passed  along  on  the  Prairies  at 
their  base."  '^  The  white  beauty  of  the  western-lying  Wind  River 
range  drew  this  comment  from  Jason  Lee:  "The  Rocky  Moun- 
tains with  their  summits  and  parts  of  their  sides  clad  in  eternal 
snow  present  to  the  eye  of  the  traveler  a  most  grand,  beautiful, 
and  sublime  appearance."  *^ 

Green  River  rendezvous.  Leaving  South  Pass  on  June  14,  the 
party  proceeded  by  rapid  marches  down  the  Big  Sandy,  a  tributary 
of  Green  River  in  the  present  western  Wyoming.  Four  more  days 
of  vigorous  travel  brought  the  missionaries  to  the  junaion  of  the 
Green  River  and  the  Big  Sandy.  Continuing  their  southwestward 
journey,  "a  severe  march"  on  June  20  brought  them  "to  Horny 
Fork  [Hams  Fork},  the  place  of  rendezvous,  and  now  ten  miles 
above  on  the  same  [Hams]  Fork."  ''^ 

At  the  rendezvous,  the  weary  travelers  and  their  jaded  animals 

***  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  135. 

'''Ibid. 

^nbid. 

^®  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  October  3,  1834,  IX,  p.  22. 

Chittenden,  writing  in  1901  without  access  to  this  definite  information  in 
Lee's  Advocate  letters,  found  difficulty  in  locating  the  exact  site  for  the  annual 
rendezvous  of  1834.  Chittenden,  with  remarkable  accuracy,  however,  consid- 
ering his  lack  of  exact  data,  wrote,  "There  is  no  little  confusion  as  to  the  pre- 
cise location  of  this  year's  rendezvous,  but  from  Wyeth's  journals  it  seems  to 
have  been  about  12  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sandy  in  the  valley  of 
Green  River.  The  parties,  however,  did  not  remain  here  but  moved  over  to 
Hams  Fork,  a  short  day's  march,  on  the  19th." 


58     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

rested  for  nearly  two  weeks.  Here  Jason  Lee  witnessed,  in  the 
full  flood  of  its  tide,  what  was  probably  one  of  the  most  picturesque 
features  of  the  American  fur  trade  of  the  Far  West,  the  annual 
rendezvous.  These  unique  wilderness  assemblages  met  in  some 
green  mountain  valley  for  trade  and  merriment. 

To  the  rendezvous  came  representatives  of  the  fur  companies,  free 
or  independent  hunters  from  their  distant  mountain  haunts,  and  Indians 
from  various  tribes.  After  the  trafficking,  the  "mountain-men"  went 
in  for  carousal.  Men  with  impassive  faces  gambled  at  cards ;  flat  liquor 
kegs  ^°  and  whiskey  bottles  were  emptied;  and  wildest  revelry  followed. 
The  Indians  joined  in  the  gambling,  horse-racing,  and  drunken  quar- 
rels. At  the  close  of  the  week  the  fur-laden  pack-animals  and  their 
owners  returned  to  civilization  and  the  trappers  departed  for  their 
lonely  mountain  retreats.'^ 

The  rendezvous  which  Jason  Lee  witnessed  in  1834,  consisted 
of  two  companies  of  trappers  and  traders,  which  numbered  about 
six  hundred  men.  One  of  these  companies  represented  a  branch 
of  the  American  Fur  Company  and  was  in  charge  of  Andrew 
Drips  and  Lucien  Fontenelle.  The  partners  directing  the  opera^ 
tions  for  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  were  Thomas  Fitz- 
patrick,  Milton  Sublette,  and  James  Bridger.''^ 

Perhaps  the  most  vivid  picture  of  this  colorful  trapping  com- 
pany was  painted  by  Lee's  youthful  but  discerning  lay  helper, 
Philip  L.  Edwards: 

Here  is  the  hardy  mountain  veteran  who  has  ranged  these  wilds 
for  more  than  thirty  years.  Reckless  of  all  provision  for  the  fumre, 
his  great  solicitude  is  .  .  .  animal  gratification.  ...  A  suit  of  clothes 
is  seldom  washed  or  mrned  from  the  time  it  is  first  worn  until  it  is 
laid  aside.  Caps  and  hats  are  made  of  beaver  and  otter  skins,  and  the 
skins  of  buffalo  calves.  .  .  .  Some  of  these  are  fantastically  ornamented 
with  tails  and  horns.  .  .  .  Here  the  fringes  are  six  and  seven  inches 

' "  Flat  kegs  made  to  fit  snugly  against  the  side  of  a  pack  animal. 

^^  C.  J.  Brosnan,  History  of  the  State  of  Idaho,  (New  York,  1926),  p.  50 

'*  Osborne  Russell,  Journal  of  a  Trapper  (Boise,  1915),  p.  8. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  59 

long,  and  hung  densely  on  every  seam  .  .  .  both  of  hunting  shirt  and 
leggins.   Indeed  their  weight  is  a  great  burden/^ 

Letters  home.  Although  busy  with  the  routine  duties  of  camp 
work,  such  as  caring  for  his  horses,  cows,  and  mules,  Jason  Lee 
found  the  time  to  write  informative  letters  to  his  Eastern  friends. 
On  Tuesday,  July  2,  1834,  he  penned  this  diary  entry:  "This  day 
sealed  a  long  communication  to  Dr.  Fisk  [and  others],  and  carried 
them  down  to  Wm.  Sublette's  camp  and  he  kindly  took  charge  of 
them.  May  they  safely  reach  those  for  whom  they  are  designed."  '* 

Lee's  long  letter  to  Dr.  Fisk  safely  reached  "The  States,"  the 
St.  Louis  postal  stamp  showing  that  it  arrived  in  that  city  on 
September  1,  1834.  According  to  the  praaice  of  the  time,  it  was 
mailed  without  an  envelope,  but  carefully  folded  and  sealed,  the 
address  appearing  on  the  last  page,  left  blank  for  that  purpose. 
After  being  carefully  preserved  at  Wesleyan  University  for  ninety- 
seven  years,  it  was  forwarded  in  January,  1931,  to  the  present 
writer.  The  quaint  effea  of  its  yellowed  and  aged  appearance  is 
heightened  by  the  faa  that  it  is  written  in  an  old-fashioned  vege- 
table "madder"  red  ink,  and  its  even,  smooth  lines  show  the  un- 
mistakable evidences  of  a  quill  pen.  This  letter,  written  in  a  small, 
well-lined,  and  well-spaced  script  nearly  a  century  ago  from  a 
green  mountain  valley  near  the  Rocky  Mountain  rendezvous,  reads 
as  follows: 

Rocky  Mountains    June  29,  1834 
Respeaed  and  Dear  Brother. 

Through  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  the  Christian's  God,  we  are 
safe  at  Rendevous  on  Hams  Fork,  near  the  Colorado  of  the  west,  I 
think  1,500  mi.  from  St.  Louis.  I  have  just  closed  a  communication 
for  the  Advocate,  in  which  I  have  mentioned  most  of  the  interesting 
incidents  of  our  journey,  which  in  my  judgement,  are  few,  and  far 
between. 

We  did  not  see  so  much  as  one  band  of  hostile  Indians  on  our 

'  ^  Philip  L.  Edwards,  Letter  to  Missouri  Enquirer,  in  California  Historical 
Society   Quarterly    (San    Francisco,   April-December,    1924),   III,    pp.    74,    75. 
'*  Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  I4l. 


60     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

journey,  and  very  few  friendly  after  leaving  the  Kanzas  Agenq^.  We 
got  on  very  well  for  green  hands,  so  much  so,  that  we  were  no  hinder 
to  the  Company,  but  according  to  the  Capt.,  own  confesion,  a  benefit. 
He  gives  us  the  praise  of  getting  along  far  better  than  he  did,  the  first 
time  he  came  to  the  country. 

I  would  not  have  it  mentioned  to  his  injury,  but  the  Capt.  is  a 
perfect  infidel  as  it  respects  revealed  religion.  This  I  mistrusted  some 
time  since,  but  recently,  of  his  own  accord,  he  avowed  his  infideUty. 
You  probibly  remember  what  was  said  in  Boston  concerning  the  rough- 
ness of  the  men,  and  the  promise  he  made  of  saving  us  as  much  as 
possible  from  being  annoyed  by  their  profaneness;  so  far  from  ful- 
filling his  promise,  he  indulges  freely  in  the  habit  himself,  though  he 
says  he  is  ashamed  of  it,  not  on  moral  principles,  but  on  those  of  good 
breeding.  Hence  you  may  judge  what  kind  of  society  we  have  been 
obliged  to  mingle  with  on  our  journey.  But  except  that  we  have  been 
treated  with  the  greatest  respea  both  by  the  Capt.  and  men. 

The  Capt.  I  must  say  has  aaed  the  part  of  a  Gentlman  towards  us. 
He  went  to  the  place  of  Rendevous  and  returned  before  the  company 
reached  it.  He  came  and  informed  me,  that  he  heard,  that  the  Indians 
threatened  to  "give  them  Missionaries  Hell,"  and  that  he  heard  some 
thing  of  the  kind  himself,  and  advised  us  to  say  nothing  to  them  on 
the  subject  of  religion,  for  it  was  not  possible  to  do  them  any  good, 
and  be  careful  not  to  give  them  the  least  reason,  or  excuse  for  abusing 
us,  and  if  we  were  molested,  to  be  firm,  and  not  show  the  least  symp- 
toms of  jear,  adding  that  he  did  not  want  to  get  into  a  scrape  on  our 
account,  or  any  other,  but  in  case  of  abuse  to  call  upon  him,  and  rest 
assured  that  when  men  put  themselves  under  his  protection  that  he 
would  not  forsake  them  in  the  hour  of  danger.  I  replied  that  I 
jeared  no  man,  and  as  I  intended  to  treat  every  man  respectfully  I 
apprehended  no  danger  when  men  were  sober,  and  when  drunk,  I 
would  keep  out  of  their  way.  As  soon  as  we  arrived,  I  went  at  once, 
to  their  Camp  in  Company  with  the  Capt.  and  was  never  treated  more 
kindly  by  any  people  in  my  life.  The  Gentlemen  at  the  head  of  the 
Companies,  though  they  frankly  profess  their  opposition  to  our  enter- 
prise, yet  they  deny  having  made  any  threats,  (though  their  men  may 
have  made  some) ,  and  declare  that  men  of  our  profession  are  the  last 
they  would  think  of  abusing.  I  bless  God  I  know  that  no  weapon 
formed  against  us  can  prosper  without  his  permission. 

The  last  Advocate  we  received  before  we  left,  contained  the  account 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  61 

of  your  reffermation  in  M[iddletown]  and  I  rejoiced  exceedingly  on  the 
reception  of  such  glorious  news.  It  reminds  me  of  the  refreshing  sea- 
sons we  enjoyed  at  Wilbraham  in  days  gone  by,  and  I  trust  that  the 
Lord  will  make  your  University  a  nursery  of  piety,  a  fountain  of  vir- 
tue, where  shall  flow  forth  streams  that  shall  water  and  replenish  many 
parts  of  our  unfruitful  earth,  that  are  now  consuming  by  moral 
drowth.  But  their  is  one  difficulty:  many  of  your  young  men  become 
so  effiminate  for  want  of  proper  exercise,  and  in  consequence  of  too 
close  application  to  their  to  their  books,  that  they  really  think  they 
have  not  physical  force  and  energy  enough  to  justify  them  in  leaving 
their  own  New  England,  but  they  are  mistaken  on  this  subject.  Send 
your  pale  and  emaciated  dispepticks  a  trip  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  let  them  breath  this  pure  atmosphere,  and  live  a  while  on  buf- 
faloe  meat  with  out  bread  or  sauce,  and  they  will  soon  find  that  such 
a  trip  is  far  more  beneficial  to  them  than  all  their  dieting,  on  all  the 
apothacary  stuff  that  was  ever  bought  or  sold.  They  will  then  be 
able  to  commence  Missionary  opperaions  among  the  Snake,  the  Paw- 
nack,  the  Crow,  and  the  Black  Foot  Indians,  in  either  of  which  tribes 
I  believe  a  Missionary  would  be  perfealy  safe,  if  the  Indians  would 
give  him  their  countenance.  You  may  think  I  am  a  little  enthusiastic, 
but  I  can  assure  you,  that  many  have  left  the  states  invalids,  and  in  a 
few  weeks  entirely  recovered  their  health.  One  man  who  looked  as 
if  he  was  far  gone  with  the  consumption  came  out  with  us,  and  now 
looks  like  another  man,  and  a  number  of  others  who  were  pale  and 
sallow  now  look  fresh  and  healthy.  We  shall  probable  leave  here  on 
Tues.  next. 

Our  horses  were  very  much  worn  down,  or  rather  starved  when  we 
arrived,  so  much  so  that  some  of  us  were  obliged  to  walk  a  number  of 
days.  About  12  days  from  this  we  shall  be  beyond  the  range  of  buf- 
faloe,  (which  is  here  the  staff  of  life,)  and  it  will  be  necessary  for  us 
to  dry,  and  take  with  us,  enough  to  last  to  Vancouver,  as  we  pass  over 
some  hundred  miles  where  there  is  no  game,  we  have  therefore  ex- 
changed some  of  our  goods  for  a  mule,  that  we  may  be  able  to  carry 
a  sufficiency. 

June  30th  We  do  a  proportional  part  of  the  hunting  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  Capt.'s  hunters  and  the  spoil  is  equally  divided  among 
all.  Having  the  milk  of  two  cows,  and  being  careful  not  to  waste  our 
meat  we  have  had  plenty,  but  some  of  the  messes  have  been  very 
short  sometimes  not  having  a  bite  for  a  day  or  so.    One  day  when 


62     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

most  of  the  Company  had  been  fasting  for  some  time,  I  providentially 
found,  and  killed  an  elk,  which  supplied  us  til  we  found  buflfaloe 
again. 

The  God  of  Missions  is  with  us  and  still  opens  the  way  before  and 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Indians  will  receive  gladness.  But  it 
is  rather  my  opinion  that  it  is  easier  converting  a  tribe  of  Indians  at.  a 
Missionary  Meeting,  than  in  the  wilderness.  I  think  from  what  I  learn 
of  the  situation  of  the  Indians,  and  their  readiness  to  receive  instruc- 
tion, that  we  shall  soon  send  home  the  Macedonian  cry,  and  I  hope 
when  it  is  known,  that  a  trip  over  the  Mountains  is  a  catholican  which 
cures  all,  that  we  shall  not  find  it  so  difficult  to  get  volunteers.  I  trust 
the  Missionary  flame  is  burning  high  in  M.  and  in  all  the  Churches. 
There  is  much  for  us  as  a  church  to  do  in  this  work,  may  we  aa  well 
our  part.  Please  pardon  this  hurried  scrall  for  we  have  not  the  facilities 
for  writing  here  that  you  have.  Tell  Br.  Patten  that  I  intended  to 
write  him  but  have  been  engaged  making  halters  of  buffaloe  skins  and 
found  it  so  hard  to  prepare  that  I  think  I  shall  not  have  time.  I  hope 
you  will  be  able  to  find  a  way  of  communicating  with  us  through  the 
Hudson  Bay  Companie's  express,  which  I  think  will  be  the  surest  way. 
Letters  sent  this  way  will  probibly  reach  us,  and  in  less  time  than  any 
other  way.  I  talk  of  letters,  but  when  shall  I  have  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  them?  Please  give  my  love  to  all  my  acquaintance,  and  especially 
to  Mrs.  F.  and  Mrs.  Toby.  I  hope  I  shaal  have  something  more  inter- 
esting when  I  write  next. 

Most  Affely  yours 

W.  Fisk.  Jason  Lee. 

"Snake  Country!'  Resuming  their  westward  march  on  July  2,  the 
missionary  party  reached  the  Bear  River  on  July  5,  1834,  and  with 
the  Snake  River  as  their  objeaive  proceeded  in  a  westwardly  direc- 
tion along  the  valleys  of  the  Bear  and  Portneuf  rivers.  On  July  9, 
Lee  writes  that  he  met  at  the  site  of  Soda  Springs,  Idaho,  the 
famous  Hudson's  Bay  brigade  leader,  Thomas  McKay.  With  this 
noted  leader  of  "Snake  Country"  expeditions,  Lee  was  to  have 
intimate  and  unusually  friendly  contaa  in  the  years  immediately 
succeeding  this  first  chance  meeting  in  the  h'eart  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  country.'^'' 

'"  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  Oaober  30,  1835,  X,  p.  37. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  63 

On  the  following  day  Lee  encountered  Captain  B.  L.  E.  Bonne- 
ville, another  celebrity  of  the  mountains.  Bonneville  was  now  in 
the  third  year  of  his  Far  Western  fur-trading  expedition,  which, 
however,  became  more  famous  than  significant.  The  meeting  be- 
tween Bonneville  and  Captain  Wyeth,  also  an  accidental  one,  led 
to  a  "series  of  hospitalities  and  a  general  buffalo  hunt."  "^^ 

Continuing  their  descent  of  the  rugged  and  picturesque  valley 
of  the  Portneuf,  on  July  14  Wyeth' s  train  reached  the  Snake  River, 
another  significant  landmark  in  the  overland  journey  to  Oregon. 
Here  in  the  fertile  bottom  lands  formed  by  the  junaion  of  the 
Portneuf  and  Snake  rivers,  and  about  nine  miles  northwest  of  the 
present  Pocatello,  Idaho,  the  astute  New  England  business  man 
seleaed  the  site  for  a  trading  post.  It  was  truly  a  strategic  choice. 
On  July  16,  the  construaion  of  Fort  Hall  was  begun." 

Fort  Hall.  Wyeth' s  immediate  purpose  in  ereaing  his  post  was 
to  provide  storage  for  his  trading  goods.  This  merchandise  was 
unexpectedly  left  on  his  hands  at  the  Green  River  rendezvous 
because  of  the  refusal  of  some  new  members  in  control  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  to  honor  a  contraa  made  by  their 
predecessors.  The  construaion  of  a  fur- trading  fort  was  not  a 
part  of  Wyeth' s  original  plan  but  it  brought  him  the  distinction 
of  being  the  only  American  to  establish  a  trading  post  in  the 
jointly  occupied  area.  Because  of  overwhelming  competition 
from  the  Hudson's  Bay,  Company,  Wyeth  was  forced  to  sell  his 
post  to  these  powerful  rivals  in  1836.  During  the  twenty  years  of 
its  eventful  history  (1836-1856)  Fort  Hall,  together  with  Fort 
Laramie,  became  one  of  the  most  important  stations  on  the  Oregon 
Trail.  During  these  two  colorful  decades  a  multitude  of  300,000 
travel-stained  pioneers  and  adventurers  passed  by  its  hospitable 
sally  port. 

"^^  Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade,  I,  p.  425. 

It  is  now  known  that  Bonneville  was  in  the  Far  West  not  merely  on  an 
individual  fur-trading  adventure,  as  pictured  by  Irving,  but  as  an  agent  of  the 
United  States  Government  to  spy  out  and  report  the  operations  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  in  the  jointly  occupied  Oregon  country.  See  Washington  Histori- 
cal Quarterly,  July,  1927,  XVIII,  pp.  207-230. 

"Townsend,  Narrative,  p.  210. 


64     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

First  Protestant  religious  service.  During  the  two  weeks'  stay  at 
Fort  Hall,  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  Jason  Lee  to  be  a  leader  in  important 
transaaions.  In  response  to  a  request  from  Wyeth,  he  conduaed 
a  religious  service  at  the  fort  on  Simday  afternoon,  July  27,  the 
first  formal  Protestant  religious  observance  to  be  held  in  the  vast 
interior  lying  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  This  meeting  was  held 
in  a  grove  of  poplar  trees  situated  near  the  west  wall  of  the  fort. 
The  congregation  of  about  sixty  persons  consisted  of  Wyeth' s 
party  of  white  men  and  Thomas  McKay's  French-Canadian 
trappers  and  Indians.  Mr.  Lee,  although  tolerant  of  human  frail- 
ties, had  been  much  impressed  by  the  intemperate  drinking  and 
eating  habits  of  the  "mountain  men."  It  was  doubtless  this  im- 
pression which  inspired  his  seleaion,  as  the  text  for  this  occasion, 
of  Paul's  warning  message  to  the  Corinthians,  "Whether,  there- 
fore, ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of 
God."  '' 

Cyrus  Shepard's  journal  entry  covering  this  first  Protestant  reli- 
gious service  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  is  unusually  full.  He 
wrote: 

Mr.  M'Coy  [McKay],  a  gentleman  in  the  employ  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  after  which  Jason  Lee,  by  his  request,  held  a  meeting. 
...  At  the  time  appointed,  about  thirty  Indians,  and  as  many  whites, 
came  together  to  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord.  Brother  Lee  opened  the 
meeting  by  reading  the  fifteenth  Psalm,  and  singing  the  hymn  begin- 
ning, The  Lord  of  sabbath  let  us  praise.'  Prayer  and  an  address  fol- 
lowed by  J.  Lee.  The  congregation  gave  the  most  profound  and 
solemn  attention,  and  the  whole  scene  was  encouraging,  being  the  first 
season  of  public  worship  I  have  enjoyed  for  nearly  five  long  months.'* 

The  testimony  of  John  K.  Townsend,  the  Philadelphia  physician 
and  ornithologist,  unaware  as  he  was  of  the  memorable  charaaer 

'®Z.  A.  Mudge,  The  Missionary  Teacher:  A  Memoir  of  Cyrus  She  par  d, 
Embracing  a  Brief  Sketch  of  The  Early  History  of  the  Oregon  Mission,  p.  109; 
Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVIII,  p.  241. 

'*Z.  A.  Mudge,  The  Missionary  Teacher:  A  Memoir  of  Cyrus  Shepard, 
pp.  108,  109. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  65 

of  this  outdoor  religious  ceremony,  is  a  tribute  to  the  spell  cast 
that  Sabbath  afternoon  by  Jason  Lee  over  his  motley  congregation: 

The  next  day  being  the  Sabbath,  our  good  missionary,  Mr.  Jason 
Lee,  was  requested  to  hold  a  meeting,  with  which  he  obligingly  com- 
plied. A  convenient,  shady  spot  was  selected  in  the  forest  adjacent, 
and  the  greater  part  of  our  men,  as  well  as  the  whole  of  McKay's  com- 
pany, including  the  Indians,  attended.  The  usual  forms  of  the  Method- 
ist service  (to  which  Mr.  L.  is  attached),  were  gone  through,  and 
were  followed  by  a  brief,  but  excellent  and  appropriate  exhortation  by 
that  gentleman.  The  people  were  remarkably  quiet  and  attentive,  and 
the  Indians  sat  upon  the  ground  like  statues.  Although  not  one  of 
them  could  understand  a  word  that  was  said,  they  nevertheless  main- 
tained the  most  strict  and  decorous  silence,  kneeling  when  the  preacher 
kneeled,  and  rising  when  he  rose,  evidently  with  a  view  of  paying 
him  and  us  a  suitable  respect,  however  much  their  own  notions  as  to 
the  proper  and  most  acceptable  forms  of  worship,  might  have  been 
opposed  to  ours. 

Townsend's  reference  to  the  easy-mannered  missionary's  stand- 
ing with  his  Oregon  Trail  associates  is  a  sincere  tribute: 

Mr.  Lee  is  a  great  favorite  with  the  men,  deservedly  so,  and  there 
are  probably  few  persons  to  whose  preaching  they  would  have  listened 
with  so  much  complaisance.  I  have  often  been  amused  and  pleased  by 
Mr.  L.'s  manner  of  reproving  them  for  the  coarseness  and  profanity 
of  expression  which  is  so  universal  amongst  them.  The  reproof,  al- 
though decided,  clear,  and  strong,  is  always  characterized  by  the  mild- 
ness and  affeaionate  manner  peculiar  to  the  man;  and  although  the 
good  effect  of  the  advice  may  not  be  discernible,  yet  it  is  always 
treated  with  respect,  and  its  utility  acknowledged.  ®° 

A  funeral  service.  On  the  following  day,  Monday,  July  28,  at 
noon,  Lee  conducted  a  funeral  service,  also  the  first  observance 
of  this  kind  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region.  At  the  conclusion  of 
the  service  on  Sunday  afternoon,  there  had  been  a  series  of  horse 

^°  J.  K.  Townsend,  "Narrative  of  a  Journey  Across  the  Rocky  Mountains," 
reproduced  in  R.  G.  Thwaite's  Early  Western  Travels  (Cleveland,  1904-1906), 
pp.  228,  229. 


66     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

races  between  some  of  the  Indians  and  half-breeds  present,  in 
which,  through  a  collision  between  two  of  the  riders,  a  half-breed 
by  the  name  of  Kanseau  was  killed.  At  the  request  of  McKay,  to 
whose  brigade  Kanseau  belonged,  Lee  performed  this  obituary 
service.  This  is  Lee's  matter-of-faa  reference  to  the  occasion  in 
his  diary:  "I  attended  at  12  o'clock,  read  the  90th  Psalm,  prayed, 
and  then  went  to  the  grave,  where  I  read  a  part  of  the  fifteenth 
chapter  of  First  Corinthians,  and  also  read  the  biurial  service  as 
found  in  our  Discipline."  In  reporting  this  event  to  his  Mission 
Board  in  a  letter  of  February  6,  1835,  Lee's  account  is  still  more 
vivid  and  intimate: 

After  service  two  of  Mr.  McKay's  Canadians  went  out  for  a  horse 
race,  and  while  they  were  at  full  speed  another,  attempting  to  run 
with  them,  came  in  contaa  with  the  former,  who  was  thrown  from 
his  horse  and  so  injured  that  he  knew  nothing  after  and  expired  be- 
fore morning.  July  28.  .  .  .  Read  the  funeral  service  to  all  of  both 
companies,  who  appeared  very  solemn.  O  that  they  would  remember 
this,  that  they  would  think  on  their  latter  end.*^ 

Fort  Hall  to  Fort  Walla  Walla.  On  July  30,  1834,  the  mission- 
aries left  Fort  Hall,  escorted  by  Thomas  McKay  and  his  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  brigade.  Wyeth  remained  behind  in  order  to  com- 
plete the  ereaion  of  his  fort.  They  proceeded  westward  down  the 
south  bank  of  the  Snake  River,  over  an  unbroken  sagebrush  plain. 
Cyrus  Shepard  describes  this  portion  of  the  ''Snake  Country"  as  a 
"dreary  desert  of  six  or  seven  hundred  miles — sometimes  scarcely 
aflfording  verdure  on  the  rivers,  for  the  sustenance  of  our  ani- 
mals." ^^  From  August  12  to  August  18  they  encamped  on  a  large 
island  in  the  Snake  River,  which  afforded  excellent  pasturage,  as 
it  does  to  this  day,  for  their  jaded  stock.  This  island,  one  of  three 
at  this  point  on  the  Snake  River,  marked  the  site  of  the  future 
much-used  Island  Ford.  It  was  at  this  point,  a  few  years  later, 
that  the  Snake  River  was  usually  forded  by  the  thousands  of  immi- 

®^  Jason  Lee  letter,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  Ortober  30,  1835,  X, 
p.  37. 

®^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  October  2,  1835,  X,  p.  23. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  67 

grants  who  journeyed  to  Oregon.  From  the  ford  the  later  road 
struck  out  across  the  lava  plains  to  the  northwest.  Passing 
through  the  environs  of  Boise,  the  present  capital  of  Idaho,  it 
descended  the  Boise  Valley,  and  again  crossed  the  Snake  at  the 
ford  near  the  future  trading  post.  Old  Fort  Boise. 

On  Saturday  evening,  August  16,  1834,  Thomas  McKay  called 
at  Jason  Lee's  camp  ostensibly  to  say  good-by,  since  he  had  decided 
to  remain  in  the  vicinity  until  the  following  March  in  order  to 
trade  with  the  Indians  and  to  trap  beaver.  ^  ^  It  is  now  known  that 
McKay's  real  purpose  was  not  to  engage  in  a  fur-trading  expedi- 
tion, but  to  set  up  a  rival  trading  establishment  in  the  Boise  Valley 
area. 

Fort  Boise.  McKay  proceeded  direaly  to  the  Boise  or  Reed 
River.  On  this  famous  beaver  stream  he  erected  the  first  Fort 
Boise,  a  simple  log  structure,  situated  about  ten  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Boise  River  and  about  three  miles  from  the  present 
town  of  Notus,  Idaho.  In  1838,  the  site  of  this  post  was  changed 
to  a  location  on  the  Snake  River,  near  the  junaion  of  this  stream 
and  its  tributary,  the  Boise  River. 

McKay  was  successful  in  his  plan  of  drawing  away  from  Fort 
Hall  the  Indian  trade  of  the  Boise  River  region.  Before  the  close 
of  the  year  1836,  Wyeth  was  forced,  as  already  noted,  to  sell  his 
post  to  his  veteran  competitor,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
whose  sway  was  now  undisputed  in  all  the  valleys  of  the  Snake. 
From  1836  to  1856  the  red  banners  of  the  great  company  floated 
in  triumph  over  the  battlements  of  both  Fort  Hall  and  Fort 
Boise.^* 

On  August  16,  deprived  now  of  McKay's  friendly  and  helpful 
company,  the  persevering  missionary  band  pushed  on  down  the 
south  bank  of  Snake  River,  and  in  the  last  week  of  August  entered 
that  scenic  wonderland,  Grande  Ronde.  Traveling  northward 
through  this  circular  valley,  the  Lees  crossed  the  Blue  Mountain 

®^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  October  30,  1835,  X,  p.  37;  Mudge, 
Memoir  of  Shepard,  p.  114. 

®*  Miles  Cannon,  "Snake  River  in  History,"  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly, 
XX,  p.  15. 


68     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

range,  a  real  landmark  in  the  far  western  reaches  of  their  long 
trail  journey.  Directing  their  course  now  rather  sharply  to  the 
northwest,  they  turned  their  expeaant  faces  toward  the  Colum- 
bia, the  'magnificent  river,  flowing  silently  and  majestically 
on."  *^  On  the  first  day  of  September,  1834,  at  'nearly  night" 
Jason  Lee  and  his  tired  companions  rode  into  the  hospitable 
grounds  of  Fort  Walla  Walla.  Although  their  arrival  at  Columbia 
waters  marked  the  end  of  a  land  joiurney  of  more  than  1,800 
miles,*'  Jason  Lee,  with  his  characteristic  New  England  reserve, 
made  this  matter-of-faa  report  of  this  event  to  his  Mission  Board: 

Aug.  31.  Expeaing  to  reach  Wallahwallah  that  night,  we  gave 
most  of  our  little  remaining  stock  of  provisions  to  brother  [s]  Shepard 
and  Edwards,  and  left  them  to  move  more  slowly  with  the  cows. — 
After  traveling  a  few  miles  we  learned  from  our  Indian  that  we 
could  [not}  reach  W.  that  night,  and  finding  grass  and  water  we 
camped. 

Sept.  1.  Started  at  day-break,  and  rode  much  faster  than  usual,  but 
did  not  arrive  at  the  fort  till  nearly  night.  I  waited  on  the  general, 
[P.  C.  Pambrun,]  and  made  known  our  wants,  and  he  immediately 
supplied  us  with  food.®^ 

Fort  Walla  Walla.  The  missionary  party  spent  September  2  and 
3  at  Fort  Walla  Walla,  enjoying  the  hospitaHties  of  Mr.  P.  C.  Pam- 
brun. On  September  2,  Jason  Lee  expresses  pleasure  in  his  journal 
upon  Captain  Wyeth's  safe  arrival  at  this  fort.**  During  his  two- 
day  sojourn  at  this  post,  Mr.  Lee  made  a  fortunate  arrangement 
with  Mr.  Pambrun  whereby  the  serious  problem  of  transporting 
his  stock  to  Fort  Vancouver  was  solved.  Mr.  Pambrun  agreed 
to  accept  Lee's  ten  horses,  four  mules,  and  three  cows  in  exchange 
for  other  stock,  goods,  and  provisions  to  be  delivered  to  the 
missionaries  at  Fort  Vancouver.*^ 

Down  the  Columbia.    On  September  4,  the  Lees  began  their 

^^Townsend,  Narrative,  p.  278. 

^^  Chittenden,  The  American  Fur  Trade,  I,  p.  481. 

®'  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  October  30,  1835,  X,  p.  37. 

^^Ihid. 

^^  Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  257. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  OREGON  69 

voyage  down  the  Columbia  River  in  a  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
barge,  which  a  member  of  the  Wyeth  party  had  hired  at  Fort 
Walla  Walla  for  the  river  journey  to  Fort  Vancouver/"  By 
September  9,  the  travelers,  by  employing  Indians  to  portage  their 
boat  around  the  famous  cataraas  known  as  The  Dalles,  were  able 
to  resume  their  journey,  although  retarded,  by  heavy  head  winds 
and  rain.  On  Sunday,  September  14,  they  safely  negotiated  the 
portage  at  The  Cascades,  the  last  obstruction  to  navigation  on  the 
lower  Columbia.  At  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Monday, 
September  15,  1834,  Jason  Lee  entered  upon  the  last  day  of  his 
Columbia  River  voyage.  Now  long  accustomed  to  magnificent 
scenery,  Lee  was  nevertheless  deeply  impressed  with  the  surpassing 
beauties  which  he  saw  on  the  broad  stream  on  which  he  floated: 
"The  Columbia  is  a  grand  and  beautiful  river.  Below  The  Cas- 
cades the  scenery  is  the  most  beautiful  I  ever  beheld."  " 

Fort  Vancouver.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  this  same 
day  the  travelers  moored  their  barge  on  the  gravelly  beach  in  front 
of  Fort  Vancouver.  On  the  shore  stood  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  who 
greeted  the  members  of  the  little  company  and  invited  them  to  be 
his  guests  at  Fort  Vancouver.  This  meeting  between  McLoughlin 
and  Jason  Lee  marked  the  beginning  of  a  friendship  never  to  be 
broken  between  the  big-hearted  chief  factor  of  the  Columbia  River 
distria  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  the  "missionary  to  the 
Flat  Heads."  '' 

®°  Wyeth' s  Journal,  p.  232.  The  traveler  of  the  Wyeth  train  who  rented 
the  boat  was  Sir  "William  Drummond  Stuart.    See  Townsend,  Narrative,  p.  197. 

^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  October  30,  1835,  X,  p.  37. 

^^  Jason  Lee  letter.  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  Oaober  30,  1835,  X, 
p.  37. 


CHAPTER  IV 
FOUNDING  OF  WILLAMETTE  VALLEY  MISSION,  1834-1837 

Fort  Vancouver.  Fort  Vancouver,  with  its  fine  spirit  of  hos- 
pitality, became  the  temporary  headquarters  for  the  missionaries, 
until  they  were  able  to  selea  the  site  for  their  own  mission  house. 
Lee's  supplies  on  Wyeth's  brig,  the  May  Dacre,  reached  the 
Columbia  on  September  16,  the  day  following  his  arrival  at  Fort 
Vancouver.  This  fortunate  coincidence  enabled  the  missionaries 
to  proceed  with  their  plans  at  once.^ 

Selection  of  a  mission  site.  On  September  18  the  Lees  began  an 
inspeaion  of  the  lower  Willamette  Valley,  Dr.  McLoughlin  pro- 
viding two  guides,  horses  to  ride,  and  provisions  for  the  trip. 
They  traveled  by  canoe  down  the  Columbia  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Willamette,  thence  up  the  Willamette  River  to  Thomas  McKay's 
farm.  From  this  place  with  horses  the  missionaries  continued 
their  journey  across  the  Tualitin  Plains  to  the  ChehaHm  Valley. 
At  the  junaion  of  the  Chehalim  and  Willamette  rivers  they  swam 
their  horses  eastward  across  the  latter  stream,  and  entered  from 
the  north  the  famous  French  Prairie,  dotted  with  about  a  dozen 
log  houses  belonging  to  retired  Hudson's  Bay  Company  trappers. 
At  the  southern  fringe  of  this  prairie  and  about  ten  miles  north- 
west of  the  present  Salem,  the  Lees  chose  a  site  for  the  Willamette 
Valley  Mission  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  in  a  broad,  rich  bot- 
tom, well  watered  and  well  timbered.  Cyrus  Shepard,  nearly  a 
year  later,*  gives  this  description  of  it: 

Our  establishment  is  on  the  East  side  of  the  Willamette  [the  Mult- 
onomah  of  the  maps]  about  sixty  miles  above  its  confluence  with  the 

^  Jason  Lee,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  Oaober  30,  1835,  X,  p.  37. 
*  Oaober  7,  1835. 

70 


WILLAMETTE  VALLEY  MISSION  71 

Columbia.  There  are  seven  or  eight  families  of  settlers  within  a  few 
miles  of  us ;  these  are  Canadians  and  Roman  Catholics,  and  have  taken 
native  women  for  their  wives.  .  .  .  Our  neighbors  are  very  friendly, 
and  several  of  them  are  desirous  to  have  their  children  at  school 
with  us." 

Dr.  McLoughlin's  influence  was  doubtless  the  decisive  faaor 
in  determining  Jason  Lee  to  build  his  mission  in  the  valley  of  the 
Willamette.   In  his  own  writings  he  states: 

In  1834  Messrs.  Jason  and  Daniel  Lee,  and  Messrs.  Walker  and 
P.  L.  Edwards  came  with  Mr.  Wyeth  to  establish  a  mission  in  the 
Flat-head  country.  I  observed  to  them  that  it  was  too  dangerous  for 
them  to  establish  a  mission ;  that  to  do  good  to  the  Indians,  they  must 
establish  themselves  where  they  could  collea  them  around  them; 
teach  them  first  to  cultivate  the  ground  and  live  more  comfortably  than 
they  do  by  hunting,  and  as  they  do  this,  teach  them  religion;  that  the 
Willamette  afforded  them  a  fine  field,  and  that  they  ought  to  go  there, 
and  they  would  get  the  same  assistance  as  the  settlers.  They  followed 
my  advice  and  went  to  the  Willamette,  and  it  is  but  justice  to  these 
pioneers  to  say  that  no  men,  in  my  opinion,  could  exert  themselves 
more  zealously  than  they  did  till  1840,  when  they  received  a  large 
reinforcement  of  forty  (40)  or  more  persons,  then  the  new-comers 
began  to  neglea  their  duties,  discord  sprung  up  among  them  and  the 
mission  broke  up.* 

Jason  Lee  in  his  diary  confirms  this  statement.  "It  is,"  writes  Lee, 
"his  [McLoughlin's}  decided  opinion  that  we  should  commence 
somewhere  in  this  vicinity."  ^ 

The  mission  was  attraaively  situated  a  few  rods  from  the  east 
bank  of  the  river  near  a  little  grove  of  fir  and  oak  trees.  Behind  it 
stretched  a  prairie  two  miles  long  and  a  half  mile  wide.  For  four 
weeks  the  missionaries  lived  in  a  tent  and  worked  unceasingly  on 
the  construction  of  a  shelter.  The  elder  Lee  gives  a  vivid  picture 
of  these  weeks  of  labor: 

^Zion's  Herald,  July  13,  1836,  VIII,  p.  111. 

*  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  "Copy  of  a  Document,"  Transactions  of  the  Oregon 
Pioneer  Association  for  1880  (Salem,  Oregon),  p.  50. 

°  Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  262. 


72     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

We  landed  where  we  now  are  in  October  1834  and  pitched  our 
tents,  unloaded  our  canoes,  and  commenced  building  a  house.  The 
rainy  season  was  approaching,  and  I  did  not  like  the  idea  of  living  in 
an  Indian  hut.  We  labored  under  disadvantages,  for  we  were  not 
carpenters.  We  however  went  into  the  woods  and  cut  the  timber.  We 
took  the  green  trees  and  split  them,  and  hewed  out  boards  for  our 
floors.  If  we  wanted  a  door,  a  table,  or  a  coffin,  we  had  to  do  the 
same.  We  could  not  advance  very  swiftly,  and  we  did  not  finish  our 
house  till  after  the  rainy  season  had  commenced.' 

By  November  3,  they  were  able  to  move  into  the  partly  completed 
struaure,  although  only  ten  feet  of  the  roof  was  covered. 

The  mission  house.  The  mission  house  itself  was  built  of  oak 
logs  hewn  only  on  the  inside.  This  snug  little  structure  was  thirty- 
two  feet  long  by  eighteen  feet  wide,  and  a  story  and  a  half  high. 
There  were  two  rooms  downstairs.  The  floors  were  split  plank, 
hand  hewn,  the  chimney  was  made  of  clay  and  sand,  and  there 
were  four  windows.  The  building  was  shingled  with  "shooks" 
split  from  a  four-foot  fir  log.  The  green  lumber  was  with  great 
difiiculty  sawed  by  hand.  The  location  of  the  mission  proved 
unfortunate.  It  was  ereaed  so  close  to  the  Willamette  River  that 
it  was  eventually  washed  away  by  the  stream.^  From  1835  to  1841, 
however,  this  house,  with  various  additions,  was  the  center  of 
missionary  life  in  Old  Oregon. 

A  review  of  conditions  at  Lee's  little  mission  house,  the  only 
center  of  American  influence  in  the  entire  Oregon  country  to 
February,  1835,  is  vividly  summarized  in  a  letter  Jason  Lee  wrote 
in  the  closing  days  of  his  first  winter  in  the  Willamette  Valley  to 
his  beloved  teacher  and  friend,  Dr.  Fisk.  Discolored  with  age,  but 
in  sound  condition,  this  three-page  letter  was  received  by  the 
writer.  The  Canadian  postage  mark  shows  that  it  reached  Montreal 
on  October  14,  1835,  seven  months  and  eight  days  after  Jason  Lee 
sealed  it  at  his  far-away  "mission  house." 

This  pen  piaure  of  the  Oregon  of  a  century  agone  reads  as 
follows : 

*  Jason  Lee's  Boston  speech,  Zion's  Herald,  February  6,  1839,  X,  p.  22. 
'  Gustavus  Hines,  Oregon  and  Its  Institutions  (New  York,  1868),  p.  140. 


WILLAMETTE  VALLEY  MISSION  73 

Mission  House 

Willamette  River  Feb.  6,  1835 
My  Dear  Brother 

After  a  long  and  somewhat  fatiguing  journey  we  landed  safe  Sept. 
15  at  Vancouver,  where  we  met  with  the  kindest  reception  from  the 
Gentlemen  of  the  H.  B.  Company.  For  an  account  of  our  journey  I 
must  refer  you  to  the  Advocate,  where  you  will  find  it  in  detail.  In  a 
communication  to  Dr.  Bangs,  or  rather  to  the  Board,  I  have  given 
some  reasons  for  setling  here,  instead  of  going  to  the  Flat  Heads. 
We  are  doing  little  directly,  as  yet,  to  benefit  the  Indians,  but  we  trust 
we  are  laying  the  foundation  for  extensive  usefulness  in  future. 

We  have  three  Indian  children,  (orphans)  under  our  care.  One 
a  boy  of  17  or  18  years  whom  we  got  to  take  care  of  our  animals, 
but  his  mother  dying  soon  after,  we  were  obliged  to  take  his  sister  of 
12  years  to  keep  her  from  suffering.  The  third  a  boy  of  13  years  who 
came  here  and  asked  by  signs  so  significantly  to  be  permited  to  remain 
with  us  that  we  could  not  refuse.  We  devote  one  hour  each  evening 
in  teaching  them  to  read  and  spell,  and  I  think  I  never  knew  children 
make  more  rapid  progress.  I  trust  it  will  not  be  long  before  we  shall 
have  a  flourishing  school  here,  which  I  think  is  the  most  effectual  means 
of  benefiting  these  truly  miserable  beings.  For  there  being  no  danger 
of  hostile  Indians  molesting  them  there  is  no  necessity  of  their  going 
in  large  bands.  Hence  they  wander  about  in  small  parties  where  ever 
they  can  find  roots  and  deer  and  are  never  long  at  one  stay.  I  trust 
however  that  it  will  not  be  very  difficult  to  bring  them  by  degrees  to 
cultivate  the  ground. 

We  have  been  labouring  hard  to  build  a  house,  and  prepare  ground 
for  a  crop.  We  shall  probably  cultivate  20  acres  this  season.  I  have 
requested  the  Board  to  send  a  man  with  a  family  to  take  charge  of  the 
farm,  and  by  the  time  one  can  arrive  we  shall  have  it  so  arranged  that 
it  will  not  be  so  difficult  as  it  now  is.  Though  we  think  this  establish- 
ment essentially  necessary  to  the  successful  prossecution  of  our  object, 
yet  we  still  have  our  eyes  on  other  places  where  the  Indians  are  more 
numerous  and  enterprising  than  they  are  here. 

I  have  requested  the  Board  not  to  send  any  more  single  men,  but 
to  send  men  with  families.  1  have  also  advised  that  Daniel's  chosen  be 
sent  as  soon  as  possible.  A  greater  favour  could  not  be  bestowed  upon 
this  country,  than  to  send  to  it  pious,  industrious,  inteligent  females. 

I  am  not  singular  in  this.   The  Gov.  and  other  Gentlemen  of  the 


74     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

H.  B.  Com.  (though  they  have  native  wives)  say  that  white  females 
would  be  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  mission,  and  would  have 
far  more  influence  among  Indians  than  males. 

If  your  opinion  accords  with  ours  I  beg  you  to  use  your  influence 
with  the  Board  to  cause  them  to  send  out  some  as  soon  as  possible. 
Tell  the  Missionary  Soc.  of  H.[artford}  M.[iddletown}  New  Haven  not 
to  be  discouraged  in  their  labour  of  love,  for  they  will  reap  in  due  time 
if  they  faint  not.  Could  they  see  what  we  have  seen,  did  they  know 
what  we  know  of  the  wretchedness  and  misery  of  their  Red  Brethren 
they  would  count  it  all  joy,  that  they  were  able  and  willing  to  do  some- 
thing to  alleviate  such  suffering,  and  prepare  these  poor  Indians  for 
the  enjoyment  of  life  here,  but  more  especially,  for  the  enjoyment  of 
the  life  which  is  to  come. 

My  love  to  all  the  Brethren  of  the  University  with  fervant  prayers 
for  their  welfare. 

I  send  this  by  the  H.  B.  Com's  express  which  is  the  most  regular 
and  safe  means  of  conveyance.  You  will  please  to  direa  [your  letters] 
to  Fort  Vancouver  to  Care  of  James  Keith  Esq.  Hon.  H.  B.  Com.  La- 
chine  L.[ower]  C.[anada}  Letters  should  be  there  [at  Lachine]  the 
first  of  April.  I  desire  very  much  to  hear  from  you.  My  love  to  Sister 
Fisk  and  Daughter.  And  except  [accept]  for  yourself  my  best  wishes 
for  your  prosperity  and  success  in  your  arduous  and  important  work  of 
moulding  the  minds  of  youth,  and  believe  me  ever 
Affectionately  Yours 

J.  Lee. 

Rev.  W.  Fisk 

On  December  7,  1835,  an  addition  to  the  original  house  was 

begun,  but  not  completed  until  late  the  following  spring.    On 

March  14,  1836,  Lee  writes:  "We  have  also  added  to  our  house 

a  building  fifteen  by  thirty-two  feet.    The  roof  is  on  and  the 

chimney  up,  but  we  shall  not  be  able  to  finish  it  until  after  seed 

time."  *   A  log  barn  to  house  the  grain  was  also  built.  This  barn, 

forty  feet  long  and  thirty-two  feet  wide,  was  a  more  comfortable 

building  than  the  house.  Its  floors  and  doors  were  made  of  sawed 

lumber.  Two  men  who  came  with  Hall  J.  Kelley  from  California 

*  Jason   Lee   letter,   Christian   Advocate  and  Journal,   September   2,    1836, 
XI,  p.  6. 


WILLAMETTE  VALLEY  MISSION  75 

were  hired  to  saw  this  lumber  by  hand.  The  barn,  like  the  house, 
was  shingled  with  "shooks."  ° 

The  missionaries'  food  during  their  first  Oregon  winter  was 
limited  in  amount  and  primitive  in  quality.  It  consisted  of  un- 
leavened cakes,  made  of  flour  from  Vancouver,  peas  obtained  from 
the  settlers,  pork  from  the  brig  May  Dacre,  a  small  amount  of  milk 
from  the  missionaries'  cows,  and  venison  secured  from  the  Indians. 

In  the  spring  of  1835  thirty  acres  of  prairie  land  were  plowed 
and  fenced  and  planted  with  seed  furnished  by  Dr.  McLoughlin, 
who  had  also  loaned  cattle  consisting  of  seven  oxen,  one  bull, 
eight  cows,  and  their  calves. '^''  Considerable  time  was  spent  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  small  thirty-acre  farm.  The  crops  were  sufficient 
to  provide  food  for  the  missionaries  as  well  as  a  number  of 
Indian  children.  In  the  fall  of  1835  preparations  were  made  to 
expand  the  farming  operations,  and  twenty-seven  bushels  of  late 
wheat  were  sowed.  Jason  Lee  recognized  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 
On  February  6,  1835,  he  wrote  to  the  Mission  Board:  "The  land 
here  produces  good  wheat,  peas,  barley,  oats,  beans,  and  potatoes, 
but  Indian  corn  does  not  flourish  well."  ^^  In  the  fall  of  1836  the 
missionaries  sowed  a  larger  crop  of  wheat  and  gradually  they 
brought  under  cultivation  a  large  farm,  which  furnished  the  liveli- 
hood of  the  mission  family. 

The  Indian  Mission  School.  A  notable  feature  of  the  mission 
settlement  during  those  early  years  was  Cyrus  Shepard's  Indian 
School.  Shepard  began,  on  March  7,  1835,^'^  a  remarkable  career 
which  was  terminated  by  his  untimely  death  on  January  1,  1840. 
The  history  of  his  life  during  that  five-year  period  is  the  history 
of  the  first  Oregon  Indian  Mission  School.  Shepard  was  excep- 
tionally qualified  for  his  task  and  was  undoubtedly  the  most  suc- 
cessful and  consecrated  of  all  the  workers  associated  with  Lee's 

*  Charles  H.  Chapman,  The  Story  of  Oregon  and  Its  People  (Chicago, 
1909),  p.  74. 

*"  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  "Copy  of  a  Document,"  Oregon  Pioneer  Trans- 
actions for  1880,  p.  51. 

^^  Jason  Lee  letter,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  October  30,  1835, 
X,  p.  37. 

"  Cyrus  Shepard,  letter,  Zion's  Herald,  October  28,  1835,  VI,  p.  170. 


76     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

missionary  enterprise  in  Oregon.  That  his  intelligent  and  heroic 
efforts  did  not  result  in  notable  missionary  achievements  was  due 
to  the  impoverished  and  diseased  condition  of  the  disappearing 
race  with  which  he  labored.  The  five  years  of  service  which  Cyrus 
Shepard  gave  to  the  Indian  Mission  School  entitle  him  to  the  dis- 
tinaion  of  being  Oregon's  first  great  teacher. ^^ 

Indian  charges.  During  the  winter  of  1835  Jason  Lee  began  to 
accept  natives  as  members  of  the  mission  family.  Three  orphan 
Indian  children  were  his  first  charges.  In  a  letter  written  on 
January  10,  1835,  Cyrus  Shepard  gave  an  intimate  account  of  their 
arrival  at  the  mission  house,  as  follows: 

The  special  providence  of  God  has,  already,  seemed  to  throw  upon 
our  care  three  poor  Flathead  orphans ;  one,  a  lad  of  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years  of  age,  who  is  quite  serviceable  in  several  ways.  The  other  two 
are  apparently  about  seven  years  of  age ;  one  is  sister  to  the  above  men- 
tioned lad,  and  they  are  the  only  survivors  of  the  family  to  which  they 
belonged;  to  this  girl  we  have  given  the  name  of  Lucy  Hedding.  The 
other  is  a  very  flat-headed  boy,  and  has  neither  parent,  brother,  nor 
sister.  He  came  one  day  to  the  mission-house,  and,  in  the  most  implor- 
ing manner,  asked  in  Indian,  and  by  signs,  to  stay  and  live  with  us ;  and 
though  food  will  naturally  be  rather  scarce  with  us  for  the  present, 
yet  such  importunities  cannot  be  turned  away.  Providence,  we  trust 
will  provide  means  of  support,  till  we  can  raise  something  to  subsist 
on.  These  children  came  to  us  almost  naked,  in  a  very  filthy  state,  and 
covered  with  vermin.  The  girl  had  no  other  covering  than  a  small 
piece  of  deerskin  over  her  shoulders,  and  a  deep  fringe  of  the  same 
material  tied  round  her  waist.  I  made  her  a  gown  (though  not  a  very 
fashionable  one)  from  some  pieces  of  tow-cloth,  which  had  been  used 
for  baling  our  goods;  and  /.  Lee  cleansed  them  from  their  vermin,  so 
that  they  do  not  now  appear  like  the  same  children  they  were  when 
they  first  came.^* 

The  mission  schooL   The  mission  school  was  much  more  than 

an  educational  institution.  Most  of  the  children  lived  at  the  mission 

^^  Z.  A.  Mudge,  The  Missionary  Teacher:  A  Memoir  of  Cyrus  Shepard,  pp. 
203-221. 

''^Zion's  Herald,  October  28,  1835,  VI,  p.  170. 


WILLAMETTE  VALLEY  MISSION  77 

house,  where  they  were  fed  and  clothed,  in  addition  to  receiving 
moral  and  religious  training.  Upon  Shepard's  arrival  at  the  Willa- 
mette station  he  became  mainly  responsible  for  the  care  of  the 
mission  family.  Until  the  coming  of  the  first  reinforcement  to  his 
primary  task  as  teacher,  he  added  the  busy  roles  of  mission  steward, 
physician,  and  nurse.*'' 

Teaching  facilities  were  limited.  Slates  and  old  textbooks 
donated  by  mission  friends  in  the  East  constituted  the  schoolroom 
equipment,  and  gradually,  through  Shepard's  efforts,  a  juvenile 
library  for  the  use  of  the  school  was  collected."  Mr.  Shepard 
did  not  begin  giving  daily  instmaion  until  the  fall  of  1835.  In 
1836,  his  school  consisted  of  nineteen  Indians.  These  children  of 
the  Oregon  country  received  daily  instmaion  in  spelling,  reading, 
committing  the  catechism,  and  singing  hymns.  In  addition  to  regu- 
lar teaching  duties,  Shepard  also  conducted  a  Sunday  school,  which 
by  Oaober,  1836,  had  fifty-three  members.^'  All  instruaion  was 
carried  on  in  English.  This  doubtless  retarded  the  learning  process, 
but  since  a  number  of  different  dialects  were  spoken  by  the  Indian 
children,  the  use  of  English  was  preferable  to  using  the  Indian 
language. 

On  March  15,  1836,  Lee  wrote  one  of  his  confiding,  intimate 
letters  to  his  friend.  Dr.  Fisk.  This  letter,  carried  by  Hudson's  Bay 
Express  eastward  across  Canada,  did  not  reach  Montreal  until 
August  13,  1836 — almost  six  months  from  the  time  it  left  the 
mission  house.  The  plainly  stamped  Canadian  postmark  bears  the 
legend:  "Steamboat.  Montreal,  Lower  Canada,  Aug.  13,  1836." 
The  postage  charges  were  eighteen  cents. 

A  significant  letter.  This  letter  is  significant  because  it  discloses 
realistically  those  lonely  spring  days  of  1836,  and  describes  a  trying 
interval  before  the  arrival  of  the  first  reinforcement  of  mission 
helpers.  Lee  and  Shepard,  both  unwell  themselves,  were  busy 
caring  for  their  invalid  Indian  charges.    Daniel  Lee  was  con- 

^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  September  30,  1840,  XV,  p.  28. 
="*  Zion's  Herald,  April  17,  1839,  X,  p.  62. 

^^This  Sunday  school  was  established  April  5,  1835,  with  seventeen  mem- 
bers.  Zion's  Herald,  July  19,  1837,  VIII,  p.  114. 


78      JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

valescing  in  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Philip  L.  Edwards  was  teaching 
a  small  school  of  Indian  and  half-caste  children  twelve  miles  away. 
This  letter,  describing  so  vividly  the  "dark  before  the  dawn" 
period  of  Old  Oregon's  first  mission,  was  forwarded  to  the 
writer  in  February,  1931,  from  the  recently  discovered  Lee-Fisk 
correspondence  at  Wesleyan  University,  Middletown,  Conneaicut. 
It  is  reproduced  here  in  print  for  the  first  time: 

Mission  House 
Willamette  River 
15  March  1836 
My  Dear  Brother 

I  proposed  to  write  you  per  Brig  May  Dacre  but  was  prevented  by 
ill  health. 

We  have  received  but  three  letters  from  the  east  since  we  crossed 
the  Mountains,  two  from  N.  Y.  one  from  Canada.  All  by  the  St.  Louis 
route  were  intercepted  in  the  Mountains.  This,  simated  as  we  are,  was 
indeed  a  great  disappointment,  but  there  is  no  alternative. 

Did  I  not  think  that  the  interest  you  have  formerly  taken  in  my 
welfare,  lays  me  under  obligation  to  write,  and  that  the  lively  interest 
you  feel  in  the  success  of  this  Mission  imperatively  demands  a  line 
from  me,  I  will  frankly  confess,  that  such  is  my  aversion  to  writing, 
that  I  should  lay  aside  my  pen.  And  more  especially  as  I  have  nothing 
very  cheering  to  communicate  concerning  our  success  and  prospeas. 
We  have  much  to  hinder,  and  some  things  to  discourage,  in  our  enter- 
prize.  My  courage  has  sometimes  been  diminished,  and  my  faith 
weakened,  but  they  have  never  jailed.  But  I  find  it  much  harder  walk- 
ing by  faith  than  by  sight.  The  truth  is  we  have  no  evidence  that  we 
have  been  instrumental  in  the  conversion  of  one  soul,  since  crossing 
the  Mountains,  and  this  being  the  object,  and  end,  of  the  Gospel 
Ministry,  the  faithful  herald  of  the  cross,  must  most  devoutly  wish, 
and  diligently  labour  for,  the  salvation  of  souls;  and  he  cannot  but 
feel  straitened,  if  he  is  placed  in  circumstances  where  he  is  not  per- 
mited  to  see  the  accomplishment  of  this  most  desirable  object. 

Such  circumstances  subject  him  to  many  temptations  from  the  aver- 
sary;  and  besides,  how  is  he  to  satisfy  others,  that  he  is  in  the  way  of 
duty,  unless  he  can  point  them  to  the  fruit  of  his  labours,  and  say, 
behold  these  who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  now  live,  and  the 


WILLAMETTE  VALLEY  MISSION  79 

lives  which  they  now  hve  they  hve  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God?  But 
I  would  not  have  you  infer,  that  because  we  have  not  done  what  we 
most  ardently  wished,  and  you,  and  others,  doubtless  expected  the 
Lord  would  enable  us  to  do,  that  therefore  we  have  done  nothing. 
You  will  see  by  my  communication  to  Dr.  Bangs  that  we  have  not 
spent  our  strength  entirely  for  naught.  Indeed  if  our  temperance 
reformation  succeed,  as  there  is  every  prospect  now  that  it  will  do ;  it  is 
worth  crossing  the  Rocky  Mountains  for.  I  was  fully  satisfied  before 
we  left  the  U.  S.  that  our  church,  and  others,  had  their  expectations 
too  much  excited  in  respect  to  this  Mis.  and  that  they  must  necessarily 
meet  with  a  great  disappointment,  but  I  am  now  convinced,  that  it 
will  be  greater  than  I  then  anticipated. 

In  the  first  place,  we  are  not  in  the  place  they  were  looking  at;  and 
I  have  had  many  foolish  fears,  that  they  would  ascribe  our  choice  of 
location,  to  some  other  motive  beside  the  true  one;  though  I  know 
there  was  not  one  of  us  who  would  not  have  prefered  going  to  the 
Mountains,  if  we  had  been  convinced  that  the  finger  of  Providence 
pointed  that  way. 

And  again,  we  cannot  tell  of  a  glorious  refformation,  and  of  hun- 
dreds of  Indians  converted  to  God;  this  also  will  be  a  sad  disappoint- 
ment. But  having  acted  conscienciously  in  this  matter,  I  leave  the  re- 
sult with  him  who  knows  the  end  from  the  beginning.  Since  I  have 
been  here  I  have  been  labouring  almost  every  day  building  or  farming, 
and  hence,  I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of  collecting  information 
concerning  the  Indians  which  I  greatly  desired  to  collect,  and  which 
wo[u}ld  no  doubt  prove  interesting  to  your  readers.  If  you  ask  why  I 
have  devoted  so  much  time  to  temporals,  I  can  only  say  because  I 
judged  it  expedient.  Send  us  lay-men  to  attend  to  temporals,  and  I 
will  gladly  attend  to  spirituals  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  There  is  not 
a  man  in  this  place  that  can  be  hired  that  is  fit  to  be  in  a  mission 
family. 

We  labour  under  many  disadvantages.  There  is  no  Physician  within 
60  mi.  Brother  Shepard  is  unwell  with  an  influenza,  and  I  have  been 
obliged  to  leave  my  letters,  frequently,  to  day  to  look  after  household 
affairs,  to  make  bread  &c.  and  even  now  though  it  is  10  o'clock  P.  M. 
I  have  frequently  to  leave  my  letter  to  wait  upon  the  sick. 

But  after  all,  I  feel  greatly  encouraged  with  regard  to  this  mis.  We 
shall  soon  be  in  a  way  of  supporting  a  large  school,  and  if  we  get  help 


80     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

from  home,  (I  do  not  speak  of  money,  but  of  men  and  women),  we 
shall  be  able  to  do  a  great  deal  in  this  way;  for  I  verily  believe  that 
we  can  support  a  school  here  with  less  expense  than  in  any  other 
place  that  ever  I  was  in.  And  if  there  is  a  place  on  the  Earth  w[h]ere 
missionaries  are  needed,  it  is  here.  And  I  do  think  if  the  Lord  spares 
our  lives,  and  gives  us  health,  that  we  shall  lay  a  foundation  for  use- 
fulness, that  shall  tell  down  to  generations  yet  unborn. 

That  the  Indians  are  a  scattered,  periled,  and  deserted  race,  I  am 
more  and  more  convinced;  for  it  does  seem,  that  unless  the  God  of 
heaven  imdertake  their  cause,  they  must  perish  from  off  the  face  of  the 
Earth,  and  their  name  be  blotted  out  from  under  heaven.  God  grant 
that  a  remnant  may  be  saved,  as  trophies  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and 
for  a  seed  to  serve  him.  Please  remember  me  in  much  love  to  the 
Missionary  Soc'y  of  H.[artford}  M.[iddletown}  &  New  H.[aven]  and 
tell  them  not  to  be  weary  in  well  doing,  for  they  shall  reap  in  due 
time,  if  they  faint  not. 

I  beg  to  be  remembered  to  any  of  the  students  of  my  acquaintance 
who  remain  with  you.  I  wished  very  much  to  write  to  some  of  them, 
but  my  time  is  so  occupied  that  I  cannot  do  it. 

Do  write  as  often,  and  as  much  as  possible.  There  is  a  direa  way  of 
communication  once  a  year  per  Express  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com.  and 
they  are  willing  to  take  all  the  letters  that  our  friends  may  please  to 
send.  I  informed  you  in  my  last  that  their  Agent  resides  at  Lachine 
L.fower]  C.[anada].  My  kind  and  christian  regards  and  love  to  Sister 
Fisk,  And  believe  me  to  be 

Most  Sincerly  &  Affectionatly 

Your  Jason  Lee. 

Virst  reinforcements.  In  May,  1837,  with  the  arrival  of  the  first 
reinforcement,  the  mission  became  more  comfortable  and  homelike. 
Among  the  members  of  this  new  group  was  Susan  Downing  of 
Lynn,  Massachusetts,  fiancee  of  Cyrus  Shepard  at  the  time  of  his 
departure  for  Oregon.  On  July  16,  1837,  they  were  married  by 
the  Rev.  Jason  Lee.  Mrs.  Shepard,  a  young  woman  of  attraaive 
appearance  and  pleasant  disposition,  was  well  satisfied  with  her 
life  in  the  far  west.  In  the  November,  1838,  issue  of  a  monthly 
magazine  published  at  Lynn,  in  a  letter  quoted  from  Z'ton's  Herald 


WILLAMETTE  VALLEY  MISSION  81 

she  reported  "intense  satisfaaion  with  the  country  and  her  condi- 
tion and  her  desire  to  remain  there  as  a  teacher."  ^* 

The  mission  school,  1837.  Mr.  H.  K.  W.  Perkins,  a  member  of 
the  second  Oregon  reinforcement,  furnishes  this  intimate  descrip- 
tion of  the  Indian  school  as  he  found  it  in  1837: 

I  wish  I  could  make  you  acquainted  with  brother  Shepard's  school, 
as  it  was  when  I  first  visited  the  country.  I  wish  I  could  make  you  see 
the  very  log-house,  the  school  room,  the  chambers  where  the  children 
slept,  the  little  clapboard  bedsteads,  if  bedsteads  they  could  be  called, 
the  loose  straw  in  which  they  nestled,  the  dining-room,  the  table,  the 
bits  of  coarse  bread,  and  basins  of  soup,  as  they  used  to  be  placed 
regularly  along  from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other,  and  last,  though  not 
least  interesting,  to  see  the  good  man  [Shepard]  quietly  seated  at  the 
board  sharing  the  fare  with  them.  I  wish  I  could  introduce  you  to 
them,  as  he  knelt  with  them  and  offered  up  evening  and  morning 
prayers,  that  you  might  hear  them  while  they  sing,  and  listen  to  the 
simple,  artless  instruction  they  receive.  The  scene  would  impress  upon 
your  mind  a  vivid  idea  of  the  beauty  of  goodness.* " 

Another  important  aaivity  of  the  mission  school  was  the  manual 
instruction  given  the  Indian  children.  The  girls  were  taught  to 
sew  and  cook,  while  the  boys  were  taught  to  cultivate  the  soil. 
William  A.  Slacum  in  his  report  states:  "Several  of  the  larger  boys 
work  on  the  farm  in  warm  weather.  They  can  plough,  reap  and 
do  all  ordinary  farm  work  well — several  of  them  evince  good 
mechanical  genius."  *° 

Cyrus  Shepard,  born  teacher  that  he  was,  early  realized  that  the 
best  approach  to  the  problem  of  imparting  instruaion  to  the 
Indians  was  to  assist  the  native  children  to  understand  English. 
He  found  that,  once  the  language  barriers  were  surmounted,  his 
little  Indian  charges  became  receptive  to  instruction  and  advanced 
promisingly  in  their  studies.  In  communicating  with  the  Indian 
adults,  the  so-called  "jargon"   was  employed  as  the  language 

"■^Zion's  Herald,  July  19,  1837,  VIII,  p.  114. 
**  Mudge,  Memoir  of  Shepard,  pp.  196,  197. 

^"  Slacum's  Philadelphia  Address,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,   Janu- 
ary 4,  1839,  XIII,  p.  77. 


82     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

medium.  Miss  Margaret  Smith,  an  ejffeaive  teacher  at  Old  Mission 
near  the  close  of  Cyrus  Shepard's  period  of  service,  has  left  this 
instruaive  reference  to  the  "jargon": 

There  is,  however,  a  kind  of  jargon  spoken  and  learned  for  pur- 
poses of  trade,  which  is  familiar  to  several  tribes,  and  easily  acquired, 
by  which  some  knowledge  of  their  lost  condition  may  be  com- 
municated to  the  adults.  I  will  give  you  a  specimen  of  it,  and  also 
of  my  short  sermon  I  sometimes  preach  to  one  or  more  when  they 
happen  in  my  path.  Mican  tum-tum  Cloosh.^  (Your  heart  good?) 
Mican  tum-tum  wake  cloosh.  (Your  heart  no  good.}  Alaka  mican 
ma-ma  lose.  (Bye-and-bye  you  die.)  Mican  tum-tum  cloosh  mican 
clatamay  Sakalatie.  (Your  heart  good  you  go  to  God.)  Mican  clatamay 
sayyah;  hiyas  wake  cloosh  Schochen.  (Go  ye  great  way  oif ;  very  bad 
devil.)  Sakalatie  mamoke  tum-tum  cloosh.  (God  make  heart  good.) 
Wah-wah  Sakalatie.  (Speak  to  God.)  Sakalatie  mamoke  hiyas  cloosh 
mican  tum-tum.  (God  make  very  good  your  heart.)  Hiyack  wah-wah 
Sakalatie.  (Quick  speak  to  God.)*^ 

Jason  Lee  considered  that  in  the  mission  family  and  mission 
school  lay  his  greatest  hope  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians.  His 
Indian  charges,  after  being  fed,  clothed,  and  taught,  were  given 
English  names,  usually  names  prominent  in  Methodism,  for 
example,  "Wilbur  Fisk,"  "Osmon  C.  Baker,"  and  "Elijah  Hed- 
ding."  ^^  So  long  as  Cyrus  Shepard,  under  Lee's  supervision,  had 
special  care  of  the  children,  the  school  was  successful. '*'  During 
Lee's  eastern  tour,  however,  Shepard,  never  physically  strong, 
was  the  viaim  of  a  scrofulous  infeaion  which  necessitated  the 
amputation  of  his  leg.  He  did  not  long  survive  the  operation.  He 
died  on  January  1,  1840,  leaving  his  wife,  Susan  Downing  Shep- 
ard, and  two  infant  daughters.^*  His  oft-repeated  wish  was  at  last 
fulfilled:  "to  live  and  die  in  this  blessed  cause."  ^'^ 

Until  1842,  two  years  after  Shepard's  death,  the  mission  school 

^^  Letter  from  Margaret  J.  Smith,  dated  "Fort  Vancouver,  April  10th,  1838" 
in  Oregonian  and  Indian's  Advocate,  November,  1838,  I,  pp.  58-61. 
^^  Zion's  Herald,  July  19,  1837,  VIII,  p.  114. 

^^  H.  K.  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  p.  250. 
^^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  September  30,  1840,  XV,  p.  28. 
^^  Zion's  Herald,  October  28,  1835,  VI,  p.  171. 


WILLAMETTE  VALLEY  MISSION  83 

continued  to  be  conduaed  at  the  original  Willamette  station.  But 
with  the  transferring  of  the  mission  headquarters  to  Chemeketa 
in  1841,  a  building  was  erected  called  "The  Indian  Manual  Labor 
Training  School."  The  structure  cost  $10,000,  and  was  for  many 
years  the  most  imposing  building  in  the  Oregon  country.^"  The 
school  continued  until  1844,  and  during  the  ten  years  of  its 
existence  rendered  devoted  service  to  the  Indians  in  its  vicinity. 
By  1844,  there  had  been  a  gradually  serious  falling  off  in  attend- 
ance owing  to  the  rapid  decline  in  the  Indian  population.  When 
George  Gary  superseded  Lee  in  1844,  he  decided  that  the  de- 
creased attendance  did  not  justify  its  continuance,^''  and  on  June  26 
sold  the  school  property  for  the  small  sum  of  $3,000  to  the 
trustees  of  the  Oregon  Institute,  later  the  Willamette  University. 
This  property  consisted  of  the  Manual  Training  School  building  ^ ' 
and  one  square  mile  of  land  on  which  it  was  located. 

Oregon  Temperance  Society.  In  all  contaas  between  the  white 
man  and  the  Indian  the  introduaion  of  intoxicating  liquor  plays 
a  discreditable  part.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  on  February 
11,  1836,  the  settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mission  organized  a 
temperance  society.  ^°  Three  settlers  signed  the  pledge  that  day. 
About  a  year  later,  on  January  2,  1837,  the  Oregon  Temperance 
Society  played  an  important  part  in  postponing  the  entry  of  liquor 
and  the  liquor  business  into  the  Oregon  communities.^" 

*"  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  pp.  250-251. 

^'Ibid. 

"Ubid. 

^"Oregon  Mission  Record  Book,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XXIII, 
p.  242. 

'*  For  a  detailed  account  of  this  incident,  and  a  tribute  to  Jason  Lee's 
pioneering  service  to  the  cause  of  temperance,  see  Appendix  II. 


CHAPTER  V 
MISSION  GROWTH 

Beginning  of  Oregon's  cattle  industry.  Jason  Lee  early  recog- 
nized that  the  possession  of  cattle  was  fundamental  in  the  economic 
life  of  the  mission  settlement.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had 
been  most  kind  in  furnishing  some  cattle,  but  it  was  against  the 
rules  of  the  company  to  sell  stock  to  any  one.  Previous  to  1836, 
the  only  cattle  in  Oregon  were  the  property  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  On  January  12,  1837,"^  therefore,  Mr.  Lee  called  a 
meeting  at  the  mission  house  and  brought  about  the  organization 
of  a  joint  stock  company  in  order  to  raise  money  and  send  men 
to  California  to  purchase  cattle.  The  whole  amount  of  money 
raised  was  approximately  $2,700.  Jason  Lee  invested  $400  for 
the  mission;  *  Dr.  McLoughlin  invested  nearly  $900  for  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,'  and  Lieutenant  William  A.  Slacum  *  invested 
$500  in  his  own  name.  The  settlers  made  up  the  remainder  of 
the  amount.  Articles  of  agreement  were  drawn  up.  A  pioneer, 
Ewing  Young,  because  of  his  knowledge  of  California,  com- 
manded the  party.  Philip  L.  Edwards  of  the  mission  served  as 
treasurer  of  the  company. 

Lieutenant  Slacum  offered  free  transportation  to  California,  on 
his  brig  Loriot,  to  the  men  who  were  to  purchase  the  cattle,  and 
the  offer  was  gladly  accepted.  Jason  Lee  accompanied  the  small 
band  of  eleven  men  to  the  mouth  of  the  Willamette,  where  the 
Loriot  was  anchored,  and  on  January  22,  1837,  offered  a  farewell 

^  Oregon  Mission  Record  Book,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XXIII,  p. 
251. 

*  Jason  Lee  letter,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  June  9,  1837,  XI,  p.  166. 

*  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  "A  Copy  of  a  Document,"  Transactions  of  the 
Oregon  Pioneer  Association  for  1880,  pp.  7,  51. 

*  Federal  Agent  in  Oregon.    See  Appendix  II. 

84 


MISSION  GROWTH  85 

prayer  on  the  quarter-deck  for  the  success  of  their  pioneering  cattle 
venture.  The  brig  then  slipped  its  moorings  and  started  on  its 
way  to  the  Spanish  province  of  California." 

In  California,  Young  and  Edwards  bought  eight  hundred  head 
of  cattle,  three  hundred  head  from  the  mission  at  San  Francisco 
and  five  hundred  head  from  the  San  Jose  mission.  After  innumer- 
able difficulties  and  hardships  in  driving  these  wild  Spanish  cattle 
overland  through  a  primitive  wilderness  they  succeeded  in  reach- 
ing Oregon  with  six  hundred  and  thirty  of  the  original  eight 
hundred  head  of  stock,  in  mid-Oaober,  1837.  These  cattle  were 
distributed  to  the  stockholders  in  the  company  at  $7.67  a  head.^ 
The  introduaion  of  this  band  of  mission  cattle  marked  the  begin- 
ning of  an  independent  economic  life  for  the  American  settlers. 
It  also  laid  the  foundation  of  Oregon's  livestock  and  dairying  in- 
dustries. Since  Jason  Lee's  time  cattle  have  become  a  leading 
source  of  Oregon's  wealth. "^ 

Lieutenant  Slacum's  own  account  of  his  part  in  introducing 
cattle  into  Old  Oregon  was  told  at  Jason  Lee's  widely  advertised 
missionary  meeting  at  Philadelphia,  at  which  Lee  and  Slacum  were 
the  principal  speakers.  Slacum's  address,  delivered  only  two  years 
after  the  event,  possesses  the  vividness  and  charm  of  a  contempo- 
rary narrative,  recited  by  the  leading  actor  in  the  transaction: 

In  the  course  of  conversation  with  Mr.,  Lee,  Young,  and  other  set- 
tlers, I  found  that  nothing  was  wanting  to  secure  comfort,  wealth,  and 
every  happiness  to  the  people  of  this  most  beautiful  country  but  the 
possession  of  neat  cattle — all  those  in  the  country  being  owned  by  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  who  refuse  to  sell  them  under  any  circumstances 
whatever.  I  then  proposed  to  give  to  as  many  of  the  settlers  as  chose 
to  embark  in  the  Loriot  a  free  passage  to  California,  where  they  might 
purchase  cattle  at  three  dollars  per  head.  The  advantage  of  being 
landed  in  California  free  of  expense  and  the  risk  of  the  road  were 
very  great.  A  meeting  was  accordingly  held  in  the  lower  settlement. 
Mr.  Young  was  appointed  leader  of  the  party. 

*  Philip  L.  Edwards,  Diary,  MS.  (Bancroft  Library),  p.  2. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  18-44. 

'  R.  C.  Clark,  R.  H.  Down,  and  G.  V.  Blue,  A  History  of  Oregon  (Chicago, 
1926),  pp.  342-345. 


86     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

All  the  settlers  who  had  money  due  them  from  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  contributed  to  the  enterprize.  Ten  men  embarked  in  the 
Loriot,  and  were  landed  safely  at  Bodega,  on  the  20th  of  February. 
I  advanced  Mr.  Lee  five  hundred  dollars.  This  sum,  added  to  the 
contributions  of  the  settlers,  produced  sixteen  hundred  dollars,  a  sum 
sufficient  to  purchase  five  hundred  head  of  cattle  in  California.  I  will 
here  remark  that  when  I  parted  with  Mr.  Young,  at  Monterey,  on  the 
2d  of  March,  he  had  every  prospea  of  procuring  all  the  cattle  he  re- 
quired, on  the  north  side  of  the  Bay  of  St.  Francisco.  He  had  likewise 
received  propositions  from  several  Americans  residing  at  California,  to 
return  with  him  to  the  Willamette  with  their  stock  of  cattle;  thus 
doubly  reinforcing  the  settlement  from  this  accession  which  the  party 
will  receive  in  California. 

They  will  doubtless  reach  the  Willamette  in  June,  the  distance  by 
the  coast  of  the  Pacific  being  about  six  hundred  miles.  The  men  are 
all  experienced  woodsmen. 

I  certainly  view  this  measure  as  one  of  the  highest  importance  to  the 
future  growth  and  prosperity  of  this  fine  country,  even  if  no  other 
objea  is  attained  by  my  visit  to  the  Columbia.  In  conclusion,  I  will 
only  add  that  the  day  that  wimessed  Jason  Lee's  descent  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains  was  a  day  of  gladness  and  joy  to  those  among  whom 
he  has  cast  his  lot;  and  it  will  now  be  for  you,  my  friends,  to  assist  to 
perpetuate  the  glorious  work  in  which  he  has  periled  every  thing  to 
give  life  and  light  to  those  who  were  in  utter  darkness.  ° 

The  serious  need  for  cattle  at  the  mission  and  the  food  problems 
solved  by  the  arrival  of  the  California  band  of  cattle  are  strikingly 
revealed  in  a  letter  written  by  Mrs.  Anna  Maria  Lee: 

Mission  House,  Willamette, 
October  26,  1837 
Dear  Brother  George: 

Another  opportunity  presents  itself  for  sending  letters  home,  which 
I  hasten  to  improve.  ...  In  my  last  communication,  which  I  sent  by 
way  of  England,  I  have  given  you  a  history  of  my  marriage.  George,  I 
hope  you  are  as  happy  with  your  wife  as  I  am  with  my  husband.  I 
have  a  large  family  to  attend  to,  the  care  of  which  comes  upon  me.  I 
find  myself  much  engaged  with  domestic  concerns.    I  have  just  been 

■  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  January  4,  1839,  XIII,  p.  77. 


MISSION  GROWTH  87 

baking  an  oven  full  of  pumpkin  pies  and  ginger  bread.  I  wish  you  had 
a  piece,  they  are  good.  We  have  a  good  vegetable  garden.  We  cooked 
a  beet  that  weighed  eleven  pounds.   What  do  you  think  of  that? 

We  have  but  a  few  young  apple  trees.  We  occasionally  get  some 
fruit  from  the  fort.  We  are  not  deprived  of  comforts  here  in  this 
respea,  but  by  being  industrious  we  may  eat  of  the  good  of  the  land. 
Beef  is  scarce,  and  all  the  cattle  that  the  settlers  here  have  used  belong 
to  the  fort.  They  would  not  sell,  but  lend  as  many  as  any  person 
wishes  to  use.  A  cattle  company  was  established  by  the  people  in  the 
vicinity  in  which  Mr.  Lee  became  a  stockholder  for  the  mission.  They 
were  sent  to  California  and  returned  by  land  with  700  head  of  cattle. 
They  purchased  them  very  low,  but  they  have  had  losses  and  dangers 
to  encounter.  Mr.  Lee  is  a  man  of  business,  I  assure  you ;  he  is  pressed 
down  with  cares.  We  will  have  eighty  head  of  cattle — ^we  will  have 
plenty  of  milk  and  butter  in  the  future.  I  have  made  twelve  pounds 
of  butter  a  week  since  I  have  been  here,  but  our  cows  seem  to  fail 
now.  We  cannot  make  soap  on  account  of  not  having  fat  and  have 
been  obliged  to  pay  fifteen  cents  a  pound  at  the  fort;  vinegar  12  shil- 
lings a  gallon;  the  best  loaf  sugar  for  15  cents  a  pound.  Some  things 
may  be  obtained  at  a  moderate  price.  Money  here  is  of  no  use — 
beaver  skins  are  the  money  here.  They  are  taken  to  Vancouver  and 
sold  for  two  dollars  and  twenty  cents,  and  perhaps  at  home  would 
bring  ten  dollars — that  is  the  way  the  traders  get  rich. 

I  send  this  by  a  gentleman  who  crossed  the  mountains  with  Mr. 
Lee,  and  has  resided  there  ever  since.  Well,  what  more  shall  I  say, 
than  to  tell  you  to  be  good,  do  good  and  get  good.  .  .  .  May  the 
Lord  bless  and  prosper  you  and  give  you  that  better  part  which  shall 
never  be  taken  from  you.  So  prays  your  sister  in  the  bonds  of  nature 
and  love. 

Anna  Maria  Lee.* 
G.  W.  Pittman 

Missionary  reinforcements.  Somewhat  earlier  than  the  purchase 
of  the  cattle,  the  first  group  of  Oregon  missionary  reinforcements 
sailed  in  July,  1836,  from  Boston  harbor  in  the  Hamilton,  under 
the  leadership  of  Dr.  Elijah  P.  White,  the  first  physician  to  join 
the  Willamette  Mission.  The  party  included  Dr.  White's  wife  and 
son;  Miss  Susan  Downing,  who  was  engaged  to  marry  Cyrus 

•  Francis  H.  Grubbs,  Memorial  Souvenir  [o/]  Jason  Lee,  pp.  68-70. 


88     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Shepard;  Miss  Anna  Maria  Pittman,  who  later  became  the  wife 
of  Jason  Lee;  Miss  Elvira  Johnson,  who  later  married  Rev.  H.  K. 
W.  Perkins;  and  Alanson  Beers,  blacksmith,  wife  and  three  chil- 
dren; and  the  popular  W.  H.  Willson,  a  ship  carpenter  from  New 
Bedford.  A  voyage  of  almost  exaaly  five  months  brought  the 
Hamilton  to  Honolulu  on  December  23,  1836.  There  they  were 
detained  nearly  four  months,  no  suitable  vessel  being  available. 
Their  enforced  stay  at  ''the  Islands"  was  made  pleasant  through 
the  hospitalities  extended  to  them  by  the  American  Board  mission- 
aries stationed  there.  ^°  Passage  was  at  last  obtained  on  a  vessel 
bound  for  the  Columbia  River,  and  the  mission  recruits  arrived 
at  Fort  Vancouver  on  May  28,  1837.  There  Jason  Lee  met  them, 
and  preparations  were  immediately  made  to  start  for  the  Willa- 
mette station.  By  canoe  and  on  horseback,  they  traveled  toward 
their  destination.  At  Champoeg,  Dr.  White  received  a  message 
from  Daniel  Lee,  who  was  at  the  station,  requesting  him  to  come 
on  in  advance  of  the  others  in  order  to  attend  the  sick.  Dr.  White 
accordingly  hurried  along  and  immediately  upon  his  arrival  at  the 
Willamette  station  began  his  duties  as  mission  doaor." 

Dr.  White.  Dr.  White  remained  at  his  post  of  mission  doaor 
for  three  years.  In  1840,  "due  to  an  honest  difference  of 
opinion"  ^^  with  Jason  Lee,  according  to  Dr.  White's  version  of 
the  affair,  he  resigned  and  returned  to  the  United  States  on  board 
the  ship  Lausanne.  An  Oregon  pioneer  gives  this  penetrating 
charaaerization  of  the  man:  "Dr.  White  was  sycophantic,  but  he 
had  some  very  good  points.  He  was  ready  to  relieve  you  if  he 
knew  you  needed  relief.  You  would  first  have  to  convince  him  of 
the  faa.  He  was  kind  and  openhearted  in  his  way;  not  very  bright; 
slow  of  perception,  but  able  to  jump  at  a  conclusion."  ^' 

^**  Dr.  White  letter,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  November  24,  1837, 
XII,  p.  59. 

^^  A.  J.  Allen  (comp.),  Ten  Years  in  Oregon;  Travels  and  Adventures  of 
Dr.  E.  White  and  Lady  (Ithaca,  1850),  p.  10. 

^' Ibid.,  p.  131. 

^^  Sidney  "W.  Moss,  Narrative  and  Remarks,  MS.  (in  Bancroft  Library),  p.  2. 

"It  was  his  [Jason  Lee's]  opposition  to  the  expenditure  of  Dr.  White 
[on  the  hospital  building  at  Old  Mission]  that  incensed  that  gentleman  against 
him  [Lee]."  Lee  before  his  mission  board  in  Lee  Manuscript  Collection, 
Oregon  Historical  Society,  p.  86. 


MISSION  GROWTH  89 

Marriage  of  Jason  Lee  and  Anna  Maria  Pittman.  Previous  to 
the  arrival  of  the  Methodist  missionaries,  there  were  but  two  kinds 
of  marriages  in  Oregon:  tribal  marriage,  praaiced  by  the  natives, 
and  contraa  marriage,  sponsored  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
The  native  purchased  his  future  wife  from  her  father,  paying  for 
her  in  ponies,  blankets,  or  buffalo  robes.  The  wife  thus  acquired 
became  her  husband's  property  to  do  with  as  he  pleased.  Many  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  servants  married  Indian  women  by  a 
civil  contract.  Both  parties  signed  a  document  witnessed  by  two 
persons  and  approved  by  Dr.  John  McLoughlin.  A  copy  of  one 
of  these  quaint  marriage  contracts  in  the  handwriting  of  Peter 
Skene  Ogden  has  been  preserved.  It  recalls  for  a  later  generation 
the  primitive  conditions  that  prevailed  in  those  early  days  when 
Jason  Lee  helped  to  break  the  solitude  of  that  distant  region. 

Civil  marriage  contract. 

In  presence  of  the  undersigned  witnesses  I  Archibald  McKinlay  a 
clerk  in  the  service  of  the  Honb^  Hudsons  Bay  Company  late  of  Scot- 
land and  now  residing  at  F^  Vancouver  Columbia  River  do  voluntarily 
and  of  my  own  free  will  and  accord  take  Sarah  Julia  Ogden  daughter 
of  Peter  Skene  Ogden  to  be  my  lawful  Wife  and  the  said  Sarah 
Julia  Ogden  also  voluntarily  and  of  her  own  free  will  and  accord  takes 
the  said  Archibald  McKinlay  to  be  my  lawful  Husband 

Witnesses  ' 

Archd  McDonald  Arch^  McKinlay 

Alexd  C.  Andrews  Sarah  Julia  Ogden 

Ft  Vancouver        Columbia  River 

June  1840 

John  McLoughlin 

CFHBCo^* 

The  marriage  of  Jason  Lee  and  Anna  Maria  Pittman  marks  the 
beginning  of  Christian  marriage  in  Oregon.  On  Sunday  morning, 
at  eleven  o'clock  on  July  16,  the  mission  family,  the  members  of 

^*  A  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Marriage  Certificate.  Editorial  Notes  by  T.  C. 
Elliott,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  September,  1909,  X,  pp.  325-331.  Oppo- 
site p.  331  Dr.  Elliott  furnishes  a  facsimile  reproduction  of  a  marriage  certifi- 
cate. John  B.  Horner,  Days  and  Deeds  in  the  Oregon  Country  (Portland, 
1928),  pp.  99-100. 


90     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

the  mission  school,  consisting  of  thirty  or  forty  Indian  children, 
French  Canadians,  Indians,  and  half-breeds  assembled  in  a  grove 
of  small  fir  and  oak  trees  near  the  mission  house.  After  the  sing- 
ing of  the  old  hymn,  "When  all  thy  mercies,"  Daniel  Lee  per- 
formed the  ceremony  uniting  in  marriage  Jason  Lee  and  Anna 
Maria  Pittman/'' 

Death  of  Mrs.  Lee.  These  two  had  met  for  the  first  time  in  Old 
Oregon  at  Fort  Vancouver  upon  the  arrival  of  the  first  Oregon 
mission  reinforcement.  Miss  Pittman,  fulfilling  a  long-deferred 
hope,  had  come  to  join  the  Willamette  mission  as  teacher.  Less 
than  two  months  later  she  was  united  in  marriage  to  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  Oregon  Mission,  Jason  Lee,  and  one  year  later  she 
died  in  childbirth.  Her  husband  was  at  the  time  on  his  way  East, 
heroically  urged  on  by  his  brave  wife  to  a  trip  that  was  felt  to  be 
imperative  in  the  interests  of  the  mission.  Anna  Maria  Pittman  Lee 
was  the  first  white  woman  to  die  in  the  Oregon  country. 

The  David  Leslie  party.  The  second  reinforcement  for  Lee's 
Oregon  Mission  arrived  in  Oregon  on  September  7,  1837.  The 
leading  figure  of  this  missionary  company  was  the  Rev.  David 
Leslie.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  three  young  daugh- 
ters. Other  members  of  the  party  were  Rev.  H.  K.  W.  Perkins,  a 
young  New  England  minister,  and  Miss  Margaret  J.  Smith,  of 
Saugus,  Massachusetts,  who  was  to  fill  a  post  as  mission  teacher. 
This  party  had  sailed  from  Boston  on  January  24,  1837,  on  the 
brig  Peru.^"^  Spirited  farewell  meetings  had  been  held  in  Boston  in 
honor  of  these  New  England  missionaries.  With  frequent  stops, 
which  probably  delayed  their  arrival  about  a  month,  they  finally 
reached  Honolulu  on  July  30,  after  a  voyage  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty-seven  days.  At  Honolulu,  Leslie  obtained  passage  on  a 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  ship  bound  direaly  for  Fort  Vancouver, 

^^  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  p.  123,  Lee  and  Frost, 
Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  149.  The  Pittmans  originally  spelled  their  name 
with  one  "t."  Because  of  the  presence  of  so  many  families  in  New  York  City, 
who  used  the  one  "t,"  Anna  Maria  Pittman's  family  began  spelling  their  name 
with  the  double  "t"  early  in  the  nineteenth  century. 

^®  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  I,  p.  161. 


MISSION  GROWTH  91 

at  what  he  considered  the  nominal  sum  of  eight  hundred  dollars. 
Sailing  from  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  early  August  on  the 
Sumatra,^''  the  Leslie  party  was  greeted  at  Fort  Vancouver  by 
Jason  Lee,  Cyrus  Shepard,  and  Dr.  White,  and  a  few  days  later 
SQt  out  for  the  Willamette  station,  the  scene  of  their  future  labors. 
David  Leslie's  Oregon  career  was  long  and  notable.  "Father" 
Leslie,  as  he  was  later  called,  upon  his  arrival  at  Willamette  im- 
mediately assumed  his  duties  as  Superintendent  Lee's  assistant  at 
the  station.  During  Lee's  frequent  absences  he  served  as  acting 
superintendent,  in  full  charge  of  the  mission. 

^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  December  22,  1837,  XII,  p.  70. 


CHAPTER  VI 
LEE'S  EASTERN  TRIP,  1838 

The  future  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  As  early  as  1838  Jason  Lee 
realized  that  however  useful  his  Indian  mission  was  as  an  agency 
for  the  Christianization  of  Old  Oregon's  Indians,  or  however  im- 
portant it  was  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the  soul  of  even  a  single  red 
man  lying  in  darkness,  the  ultimate  good  of  a  great  new  white 
civilization  on  the  Pacific  Coast  was  of  greater  moment.  Although 
Jason  Lee  did  not  for  a  moment  lose  sight  of  the  need  of  serving 
and  uplifting  the  diseased  and  vanishing  red  races  committed  to 
his  charge,  yet  he  felt  the  need  of  enlarging  his  mission  program 
to  include  the  more  distant  and  certain  goal  of  ministering  to  the 
incoming  race  of  American  pioneers. 

It  is  thought  by  several  careful  writers  that  Slacum's  visit  in 
January,  1837,*  was  influential  in  strengthening  Lee  in  this  con- 
clusion for  the  establishment  of  Christianity  and  a  white  civiliza- 
tion in  Oregon.  This  conviaion,  however,  was  but  one  of  the 
several  reasons  for  Lee's  desire  to  go  East  in  person.  The  growing 
interest  in  Oregon  was  intensified  by  the  extension  of  the  Treaty 
of  1818  through  the  Convention  of  1827.  A  full  decade  under 
this  unusual  joint-occupancy  arrangement  had  already  elapsed  by 
1837. 

There  was  still  another  reason.  Because  of  the  great  distance 
that  lay  between  the  Willamette  Valley  and  the  office  of  the 
Mission  Board  in  New  York  City,  it  seemed  almost  impossible  for 
Lee  to  present  effectively  by  correspondence  the  needs  of  the  mis- 
sion. His  plan  of  making  the  long  journey  in  person  met  with  the 
unanimous  approval  of  his  mission  colleagues.  They,  too,  recog- 
nized that  he  needed  to  hold  personal  conferences  with  the  Board 

^  See  Appendix  II,  part  2. 

92 


LEE'S  EASTERN  TRIP,  1838  93 

of  Managers  of  his  missionary  society.^  Mr.  Lee  also  believed  that 
if  he  were  present  in  the  East  he  could  aid  the  board  in  raising 
funds  for  the  Oregon  mission,  through  his  personal  appeals  to 
eastern  missionary  audiences.^ 

From  Oregon  to  the  Missouri  frontier.  So  it  was  that,  on  March 
26,  1838,  with  Philip  L.  Edwards  and  two  Indian  boys,  Thomas 
Adams  and  William  Brooks,  Lee  descended  the  Willamette  River 
by  canoe.  He  made  a  short  six-day  visit  at  Fort  Vancouver,  but 
contrary  to  many  reports  he  was  not  greeted  by  his  generous  friend. 
Dr.  McLoughlin.  The  big-hearted  host  of  Fort  Vancouver  was 
then  absent  on  an  extended  visit  to  England.  At  Vancouver,  the 
Lee  party  was  joined  by  Mr.  F.  Y.  Ewing,  a  well-known  citizen 
of  Missouri,  who  was  in  Oregon  for  his  health.  By  another  canoe 
voyage,  Lee  ascended  the  Columbia  River,  reaching  The  Dalles 
mission  *  on  April  7.  Here  he  made  a  brief  two-day  visit  at  the 
recently  ereaed  mission  station,  which  was  in  charge  of  his 
nephew,  Daniel  Lee,  and  H.  K.  W.  Perkins.  On  Sunday,  April  8, 
Lee  addressed  "more  than  a  hundred"  Indians  in  the  Chinook 
jargon.  The  next  day,  after  an  affeaionate  parting  with  his 
nephew,  he  resumed  his  eastward  journey.^  At  Fort  Walla  Walla  ^ 
he  employed  Indian  guides  and  continued  his  travel  from  this  point 
on  horseback.  On  April  14  he  reached  the  Whitman  mission  at 
Waiilatpu,  where  he  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Whitman  until  April  17.'  During  his  stay  he  was  an  interested 
observer  of  all  the  operations  connected  with  their  new  mission- 
ary enterprise.®  Discovering  that  the  fur  trading  party  which 
was  to  accompany  him  across  the  ''Snake  Country"  would  not  be 
able  to  depart  immediately,  Lee  continued  on  from  Waiilatpu  to 

*  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  I,  p.  166. 

'  Oregon  Mission  Record  Book  entry  for  March  26,  1838,  Oregon  His- 
torical Quarterly,  XXIII,  p.  259. 

*  A  mission  station  had  recently  been  established  at  The  Dalles,  a  famous 
fishing  place  for  the  Indians,  to  which  Mr.  Lee  had  assigned  his  nephew, 
Daniel,  and  Rev.  H.  K.  W.  Perkins. 

"  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  November  30,  1838,  XIII,  p.  60. 

*  Hudson's  Bay  post  on  the  Columbia,  situated  about  twenty-five  miles 
west  of  the  Whitman  mission  station. 

''  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  November  30,  1838,  XIII,  p.  60. 
®  Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  417. 


94     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

the  Lapwai  mission,  near  the  modern  Lewiston,  Idaho,  where  he 
was  the  guest  of  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Spalding  from  April  18  to 
April  23.  Here  again  he  was  an  interested  speaator,  and  made 
careful  observation  of  the  endeavors  made  by  the  Spaldings  to 
Christianize  the  Nez  Perce  Indians."  Returning  again  to  the  Whit- 
man mission  for  a  short  visit  on  May  2,  he  started  on  his  long 
Oregon  Trail  journey  on  May  12.^' 

Lee's  opinion  of  the  Indian.  Before  leaving  this  area,  Jason  Lee 
wrote  Daniel  Lee  a  revealing  personal  letter.  In  this  note,  which 
gives  a  frank  and  unguarded  account  of  his  observations  at  the 
Whitman  and  Spalding  stations,  it  is  very  clear  that  Jason  Lee,  as 
early  as  1838,  entertained  no  illusions  with  reference  to  the  prob- 
ability of  elevating  the  red  men  of  the  Far  West: 

Wallahwallah,  April  25,  1838 
My  Dear  Nephew: 

The  Yellow  Serpent  is  to  leave  for  the  Willamette  tomorrow  and  I 
hasten  to  drop  you  a  line.  I  should  have  written  you  a  line  when  the 
Indians  returned  but  was  hurried  off  from  this  unexpeaedly. 

I  visited  Mr.  W. [hitman]  &  Mr.  S.[palding]  and  find  them  getting 
on  well  with  their  Indians.  Both  are  instructing  the  Indians  in  the  Nez 
Perce  language.  Mrs.  S.  has  made  a  small  book  in  the  language, 
printed  it  with  a  pen,  and  the  children  have  made  several  copies  which 
they  sing  very  well.  The  Indians  have  acquired  a  good  deal  of  scrip- 
mre  knowledge.  I  asked  them  a  great  number  of  questions  through 
Mr.  S.,  most  of  which  they  answered  very  readily.  They  expressed 
a  great  deal  of  joy  at  seeing  me,  and  several  made  very  sensible  speeches, 
and  all  seemed  very  anxious  to  be  taught.  But  still  he  has  his  troubles 
with  them,  the  truth  is  they  are  Indians;  though  they  are  certainly 
superior  to  those  upon  the  Willamette,  and  though  his  things  are  as 

•  Mrs.  Marcus  Whitman  letter,  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  Transactions, 
for  1891    (Portland,  Oregon),  p.  105. 

*°  On  May  10,  1838,  Mrs.  Whitman  records  in  a  letter  to  her  father  that 
"Sabbath  noon,  after  the  morning  worship  (Mr.  Lee  was  here  and  preached, 
and  husband  interpreted)  .  .  .  Mr.  Lee  spent  much  time  with  us,  and  we  have 
been  greatly  refreshed  with  his  prayers  and  conversation.  I  wish  he  could  call, 
on  his  way  to  New  York,  and  pay  you  a  visit,  but  it  will  be  very  doubtful.  I 
have  made  two  small  kegs  of  butter,  one  for  Mr.  Lee,  and  one  for  Mr.  McKay 
to  take  to  the  mountains."  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  Transactions  for  1891, 
p.  105. 


( 


LEE'S  EASTERN  TRIP,  1838  95 

much  exposed  as  they  can  be,  they  steal  nothing  from  him.  Both 
the  Kioose  and  the  Nez  Perce  are  doing  a  great  deal  in  cultivation, 
the  former  with  wooden  ploughs  with  a  little  bit  of  iron  nailed  upon 
them,  and  hoes,  and  the  latter  with  hoes  alone.  Some  of  the  Nez  Perce 
came  to  the  Doaor's  for  potatoes  to  plant,  a  distance  of  300  mi.  I 
was  astonished  to  see  the  industry  of  these  Indians.  The  fact  is  they 
are  starving,  and  they  will  be  forced  to  work  their  land,  of  which, 
however,  they  have  but  little  that  will  produce  anything  but  grass. 
For  grazing  I  think  it  surpasses  the  Willamette  even,  and  the  cattle 
look  better  than  in  any  place  I  have  before  visited.  Horses  they  have 
plenty,  if  they  had  cattle  they  could  live  easy  enough.  I  feel  a  little 
[sore]  from  the  effects  of  my  ride  yesterday,  as  you  may  well  suppose 
when  you  know  that  I  rode  at  least  75  mi.  between  sun  &  sun. 

My  health  is  a  good  deal  better  than  when  I  left  you.  Both  Mr. 
W. [hitman]  &  Mr.  S.[palding]  use  highhanded  measure  with  their  peo- 
ple, and  when  they  deserve  it  let  them  feel  the  lash.  No[w]  my  Dear 
Brethren  (for  I  mean  this  letter  for  you  both)  be  strong  in  the  Lord, 
be  firm,  and  let  not  the  Indians  trifle  with  you,  let  them  know  that 
you  must  be  respected,  and  whenever  they  intentionally  transgress 
boimds,  make  them  feel  the  weight  of  your  displeasure.  I  saw  the  son 
of  your  late  chief,  Tilki,  and  think  you  had  better  take  measures  if 
possible  to  bring  him  under  instruction,  or  by  some  means  get  some 
influence  over  him,  for  he  will,  if  he  lives,  be  a  great  blessing  or  a 
curse  to  his  people.  He  will  come  to  you  before  long.  Watch  him,  for 
he  says  that  Dr.  McLoughlin  "Hioo  capsuolla."  *^ 

Do  all  you  can  to  encourage  your  people  to  cultivate  land,  by  giving 
them  seed  as  much  as  possible.  And  as  you  have  a  goodly  number  of 
adults  I  hope  you  will  lose  no  time  in  acquiring  their  language,  for 
without  this  you  can  do  little  good  to  the  adult  population,  but  when 

"  "Hioo  capsuolla,"  variant  of  two  Chinook  words,  "Hiju  Kapsualla." 
"Hiju"  means  "plenty  of"  and  "Kapsualla,"  to  steal,  or  thief.  Lee  intended  to 
convey  that  the  son  of  Tilki  called  Dr.  McLoughlin  "big  thief,"  W.  S.  Phillips 
in  his  Chinook  Book  defines  these  words  as  follows:  "  'Hiju,'  one  of  the  very 
common  words  of  Chinook  and  used  mostly  as  a  prefix  to  fix  the  idea  of 
'plenty  of  in  connection  with  other  words;  symbol  of  'much,'  'plenty  of,' 
'great  amount  of/  etc.  Adds  length;  to  distance,  bulk  to  si2e,  and  number  to 
an  amount;  'more'  to  anything,"  p.  34.  "'Kapsualla'  or  'kapsuallie'  to  steal, 
covers  the  whole  idea  of  theft,  of  thief,  and  used  in  various  ways  with  word 
combinations  to  mean  thief,  thieves,  steal,  stole,  any  idea  connected  with 
theft,"  p.  40.  Leading  Chinook  diaionaries  agree  with  Phillips  on  the  mean- 
ings of  above  words.  Walter  Shelley  Phillips,  Chinook  Book:  A  Descriptive 
Analysis  of  the  Chinook  Jargon  in  Plain  Words  (Seattle,  1913). 


96     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

you  can  speak  one  language  well  you  can  by  means  of  interpretation 
generally  communicate  with  all  who  come  for  Salmon.  Mr.  S.  assembles 
his  Indians  morning  and  evening  for  prayer  in  front  of  his  house,  and 
sings  with  them  in  native,  and  reads  a  chapter  in  English,  and  some- 
times gives  a  little  instruction,  besides  this  he  has  family  worship  in 
his  own  room. 

His  people  lose  %  of  their  time  for  want  of  a  little  showing.  They 
may  have  done  more  by  being  separate,  than  they  could  have  done 
together,  but  still  it  was  rather  a  rash  measure  to  put  themselves  so 
entirely  into  the  hands  of  the  Indians  when  there  was  not  absolute 
necessity  for  it.  Mr.  S.  did  not  tell  me,  but  Mr.  Pambrun  says  he  was 
obliged  to  fly  to  his  double  barrel  gun  to  protect  himself  from  some 
rascals  who  were  laying  hold  of  him.  But  whatever  can  be  said  in  ref- 
erence to  the  past,  it  is  evident  that  their  operations  will  move  tardily 
and  sluggishly,  unless  they  have  reinforcements  in  future.  They  give 
no  clothing  to  the  children,  and  have  not  advanced  far  in  teaching  to 
read.  A  few  can  read  indifferently  in  English  and  a  less  number  in 
native.  I  can  see  no  chance  of  getting  any  oxen  here  for  you,  but  pos- 
sibly I  may  make  arrangements  with  Dr.  W.  to  purchase  a  span  of 
horses  for  you  before  I  leave. 

Our  arrangements  for  the  long  journey  are  in  a  state  of  forwardness 
and  we  shall  be  pretty  well  prepared  for  the  trip.  The  more  I  think 
about  the  Missionary  work  to  be  done  in  this  country,  the  more  I  feel 
encouraged  in  reference  to  my  anticipated  visit  to  the  Union,  and  the 
more  I  am  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  the  Measure. 

And  now  my  Dear  Brethren  I  must  bid  you  Farewell,  hoping  to  be 
able  to  drop  you  a  line  before  I  leave,  and  praying  the  Almighty  to 
bless  and  prosper  you  in  your  labours  among  that  degraded  people. 

Be  diligent,  be  persevering,  keep  up  good  courage,  let  nothing  daunt 
you,  and  while  you  see  much  to  be  done  that  you  are  forced  to  leave 
for  the  present,  go  on  doing  what  you  can,  and  in  the  meantime  pray 
God  to  send  more  help  into  his  field. 

Remember  me  kindly  to  Sister  Perkins  if  she  has  arrived.  Let  me 
have  an  interest  in  your  intercessions  at  the  throne  of  grace. 

And  believe  me 

Yours  truly 

Jason  Lee. 
27.  I  unfold  this  to  say  that  I  expeaed  a  line  from  you  and  the  friends 
upon  the  W.  but  am  not  permitted  that  pleasure.  If  Bro.  P.  brings  let- 


LEE'S  EASTERN  TRIP,  1838  97 

ters,  lose  no  time  in  forwarding  for  I  am  fidgets  lest  they  should  not 
reach  me. 

J.  Lee. 
Rev.  Messrs.  D.  Lee  &  H.  K.  W.  Perkins 
Dalls,  Columbia  River.  ^* 

Proceeding  southeastward  from  the  Whitman  mission,  on 
May  12,  Jason  Lee  joined  the  Hudson's  Bay  fur  brigade  bound  for 
Fort  Hall.  He  now  pressed  forward  through  the  Blue  Mountains 
and  past  Fort  Boise,  reaching  Fort  Hall  on  June  16.  Near  this 
point  the  three  sons  of  Thomas  McKay  were  intrusted  by  their 
father  to  Lee's  care.  Lee  was  to  place  these  wide-awake  half-breed 
lads  in  school  in  the  East.^^  On  horseback  they  set  out  from  Fort 
Hall  on  June  29  for  the  American  rendezvous,  which  in  the  year 
1838  met  on  an  island  in  the  Po  Po  Agie  River,  a  southern  branch 
of  the  Bighorn  River  in  central  Wyoming.  After  camping  here  for 
one  week,^*  Lee  went  on  toward  St.  Louis  with  an  American  Fur 
Company  caravan.  After  a  successful  trip  of  fifty-two  days  from 
rendezvous,  he  reached  the  Shawnee  mission  near  the  Missouri 
frontier.  Here  Lee  and  his  Indian  boys  tarried  for  a  few  days 
under  the  hospitable  roof  of  Rev.  Thomas  Johnson,  superintendent 
of  the  Shawnee  Mission  Station.  While  resting  here,  Lee  received, 
at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  September  8,  1838,  the  news  of 
his  wife's  death  in  Oregon  on  the  preceding  June  26.  This  infor- 
mation was  brought  to  him  by  two  messengers  sent  from  Fort 
HalL^^ 

Shawnee  Mission  to  Alton,  Illinois.  Resuming  his  eastward 
journey  through  Missouri,  Lee  and  his  five  Indian  boys  embarked 

^^  Lee  to  Daniel  Lee,  Oregon  Historical  Society  Manuscript  Collection, 
pp.  1-4. 

^  ^  The  eldest  was  William  Cameron  McKay,  later  a  prominent  Pendleton, 
Oregon,  physician.  His  two  younger  brothers,  John  T.  and  Alexander,  were 
enrolled  by  Jason  Lee  at  his  own  alma  mater,  Wilbraham  Academy,  in  the 
autumn  of  the  year  1838.  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  Transactions,  1889,  pp. 
91-93.    Jason  Lee's  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVII,  p.  426. 

^  *  Journal  of  Myra  F.  Eells,  Transactions  Oregon  Pioneer  Association, 
1889,  pp.  79,  80. 

^^  Peoria  Register  and  North  Western  Gazeteer,  reproduced  in  Christian 
Advocate  and  Journal,  November  16,  1838,  XIII,  p.  49;  Journal  of  Myra  F. 
Eells,  Transactions  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  1889,  p.  83. 


98     JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

at  Westport,  five  miles  east  of  the  Shawnee  Mission,  for  a  canoe 
voyage  down  the  Missouri  River.  Descending  this  stream  at  the 
rate  of  about  fifty  miles  a  day,  Lee  reached  the  "sylvan"  city  of 
Alton,  Illinois,  on  Saturday,  September  22.  Here  he  found  the 
Illinois  Conference  in  session.  Unannounced,  he  entered  the  Con- 
ference with  his  five  Indian  boys  marching  behind  him.  He  was 
cordially  welcomed  as  a  guest  by  the  presiding  officer.  Bishop  Joshua 
Soule.  On  the  evening  of  his  arrival  he  was  asked  to  hold  a 
missionary  meeting  in  the  Baptist  church.  A  feature  of  this  service 
was  the  singing  of  a  hymn  by  the  Indian  boys."  Lee  gave  an  inter- 
esting account  of  his  colorful  career  as  a  missionary  to  Oregon. 
Three  days  before  Lee's  arrival  the  Conference  had  taken  an  un- 
usually large  missionary  colleaion.  After  Lee's  stirring  appeal  an 
additional  sum  of  $50  was  contributed  to  the  Oregon  Mission." 
St.  Louis  to  Chicago.  From  Alton,  cherishing,  no  doubt,  vivid 
memories  of  his  visit  there  four  years  earlier,  Lee  went  on  to  the 
neighboring  city  of  St.  Louis.  On  Sunday  evening,  September  23, 
accompanied  by  his  five  Indians,  Lee  addressed  a  large  congrega- 
tion in  the  St.  Louis  Methodist  church,^*  The  next  morning  he 
continued  his  journey  in  a  northeasterly  direaion  toward  Chicago. 
En  route,  he  stopped  for  a  second  short  visit  at  Alton  on  Septem- 
ber 24.  At  twilight  on  the  next  day  he  reached  Carlinville.  Lee 
records  that,  while  having  tea  here,  he  was  importuned  to  address 
the  crowd  which  had  assembled  outside  the  tavern  where  he  was 
stopping.  He  held  a  successful  meeting  and  entertainingly  ex- 
plains why  the  offering  at  this  point  was  not  larger.  A  few  days 
before  his  arrival  the  townspeople  had  made  a  liberal  donation  to 
supply  a  horse  to  a  preacher,  who,  retiurning  from  the  Illinois 
Conference,  had  lost  his  animal  at  Carlinville. '^° 

^*  Lee  was  a  practical  man  and  used  this  very  practical  means  of  appeal- 
ing to  his  audiences  throughout  his  speaking  tours. 

^"^  Zion's  Herald,  October  17,  1838,  IX,  p.  167;  Christian  Advocate  and 
Journal,  December  14,  1838,  XIII,  p.  (i^. 

^*  St.  Louis  Gazette,  reproduced  in  Zion's  Herald,  November  28,  1838,  IX, 
p.  190. 

^*  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  December  14,  1838,  IX,  p.  167. 


LEE'S  EASTERN  TRIP,  1838  99 

Rev.  John  P.  Richmond.  Although  Lee's  visit  at  this  point  was 
brief,  his  sojourn  in  the  Jacksonville  area  was  significant.  Here 
the  Rev.  John  P.  Richmond  was  pastor  of  the  local  Method- 
ist church.  Lee  succeeded  in  interesting  Dr.  Richmond  and  his 
family  in  Oregon,  and,  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  of 
August  16,  1839,  we  find  the  announcement  of  Richmond's  ac- 
ceptance as  one  of  the  five  ministers  who  were  to  be  Lausanne 
passengers  in  Oaober,  1839.  In  June,  1840,  Lee  assigned  Dr. 
Richmond  to  the  important  mission  station  at  Nisqually,  where  that 
missionary  and  his  family  remained  until  he  left  Oregon  on 
September  1,  1842.'" 

On  September  26,  Lee  held  a  meeting  at  Springfield,  a  thriving 
prairie  town  just  then  beginning  to  enjoy  its  new  honors  as  the 
capital  of  the  State  of  Illinois.''^  Lee's  terse  report  of  his  Spring- 
field appointment  reads: 

Previous  notice  had  been  given  that  I  would  be  at  Springfield  on 
Wednesday,  the  26th.  Here  I  met  a  respectable  and  attentive  audi- 
ence— collected  $33.12." 

Worthy  of  mention,  too,^  is  the  fact  that  Lee's  missionary  meet- 
ing at  Springfield  had  a  definite  bearing  on  the  colonization  of 
Oregon.  On  the  passenger  list  of  the  Lausanne,  which  bore  Lee's 
fifty  missionary-colonists  to  Oregon,   were  these  names:    "Mr. 

^°In  1838  he  [Jason  Lee]  spoke  at  many  places  in  Illinois,  where  lived 
the  persons  who  composed  the  larger  part  of  the  first  companies  of  emigrants 
to  go  to  Oregon.  These  places  were  Springfield,  Peoria,  Alton,  Jacksonville, 
and  other  points  in  that  coimtry.  My  father.  Dr.  J.  P.  Richmond,  was  at 
that  time  pastor  of  the  Methodist  church  in  Jacksonville,  Illinois.  Of  Jason 
Lee's  visit  to  the  region  I  desire  to  say,  such  was  the  magnetic  influence  of 
the  man,  his  great  eloquence,  his  fervent  Christian  spirit,  his  manly  bearing, 
his  evident  sincerity,  that  wherever  he  went  enthusiasm  was  kindled.  .  .  . 
At  his  suggestion  my  father.  Dr.  Richmond,  decided  to  go  as  a  missionary 
to  Oregon. — Letter  from  Dr.  John  P.  Richmond's  son,  Francis  Richmond, 
quoted  in  Rev.  Albert  Atwood,  The  Conquerors,  pp.  134,   135. 

^  ^  This  young  city,  although  of  course  unaware  of  its  good  fortime,  had 
also,  on  the  year  preceding  Lee's  arrival,  become  the  home  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. 

"Z/o»'j  Herdd,  December  19,  1838. 


100   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Hamilton  Campbell,  carpenter,  wife  and  child,  Springfield, 
Illinois."  Hamilton  Campbell,  who  later  became  a  prominent 
figure  in  the  economic  and  political  life  of  Oregon,  was,  like  many 
others,  influenced  by  Jason  Lee  to  cast  his  lot  in  the  land  of  "The 
Sundown  Seas."  ^^ 

Peoria  lecture  on  Oregon.  Leaving  Springfield,  Lee  arrived  at 
Peoria,  Illinois,  on  Saturday,  September  29,  1829.  On  the  Sunday 
following  he  delivered  an  extended  address  on  Oregon  at  the  Main 
Street  Presbyterian  church.^* 

This  lecture  by  a  citizen  who  had  been  a  resident  of  that  far-ofif 
region  for  four  years,  created  a  widespread  interest  in  the  Oregon 
country.  The  Peoria  Register  account  was  reproduced  in  the  Chris- 
tian Advocate  and  Journal  of  November  16,  1838. 

'' Indian  Tom."  Because  of  the  illness  of  one  of  his  Indian  boys, 
Thomas  Adams,  Lee  was  detained  at  Peoria  imtil  the  spring  of 
1839  when  Indian  Tom  rejoined  his  patron,  Jason  Lee,  and  re- 
turned to  Oregon  on  the  Lausanne  in  the  autumn  of  that  year. 
Thomas  Adams'  accidental  stay  in  Peoria  stimulated  an  interest, 
already  deep,  in  Oregon.  The  flat-headed  Indian  boy  from  the  dis- 
tant Willamette  was  the  objea  of  much  curiosity  and  he  was  inter- 
viewed by  many  persons  concerning  the  economic  opportunities 
of  his  homeland.  Young  Adams,  or  'Indian  Tom"  as  he  was 
called,  proud  of  the  sensation  he  created,  never  tired  of  describ- 
ing the  superior  features  of  the  beautiful  Oregon  region.  In 
Joseph  Holman's  wagon  and  cooper  shop,  his  colorful  descrip- 
tions of  the  royal  Chinook  salmon,  reinforced  with  boyish  gestures, 
were  listened  to  with  absorbing  interest  by  the  adventurous  young 

**Fred  H.  Saylor  (ed.),  The  Oregon  Native  Son  (Portland,  Oregon, 
1899-1901),  I,  p.  458,  gives  an  extended  sketch  of  Hamilton  Campbell  and 
wife. 

^  *  This  lecture  is,  so  far  as  known,  the  first  published  leaure  delivered  by 
any  resident  of  Oregon.  Lee's  extended  statement  is  significant  in  that  it  was 
one  of  the  influential  faaors  that  made  Peoria,  in  the  years  immediately  fol- 
lowing 1838,  a  leading  colonizing  center  from  which  emerged  many  promi- 
nent future  Oregonians.  Harvey  W.  Scott,  distinguished  editor  of  the  Portland 
Oregon'tan,  was  one  of  the  numerous  Oregon  pioneers  from  tlie  Peoria  area. 

Lee's  leaure  appeared  in  the  Peoria  Register  and  Northwestern  Gazetteer. 


LEE'S  EASTERN  TRIP,  1838  101 

men  of  Peoria.  His  friendly  visits  to  Holman's  shop  were 
productive  of  important  events  in  Oregon's  history,  and  to  a 
greater  extent  than  he  could  ever  have  realized,  the  Indian  lad 
was  a  factor  in  stimulating  an  Oregon  immigration  from  the 
Peoria  area. 

Peoria  emigrants  to  Oregon.  Holman  himself  joined  the  Peoria 
party  that  left  for  Oregon,  and  in  his  own  pleasant  narrative  he 
acknowledges  the  part  that  Jason  Lee  and  his  invalid  Indian  boy 
played  in  his  decision: 

In  the  winter  [autumn]  of  1838  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  the  distinguished 
pioneer  of  Methodist  missions  in  Oregon,  returned  to  the  East,  in 
company  with  [the  three  sons  of]  Thos.  McKay,  who  had  been  con- 
nected with  the  Astor  Expedition  and  two  Calipooia  Indians,  one  of 
whom,  Indian  Tom,  still  lives  in  the  Willamette  Valley.  Mr.  Lee 
delivered  lecmres  on  Oregon  as  he  passed  Eastward,  making  a  stop- 
page at  Peoria,  Illinois,  where  he  addressed  an  audience,  creating  con- 
siderable interest  in  the  land  of  the  "Sundown  Seas."  At  his  place 
Indian  Tom  was  found  to  be  too  ill  to  continue  the  journey  and  was 
left,  under  careful  nursing,  at  Peoria,  through  that  winter,  joining  his 
companions  at  the  Eastward  the  following  spring.  Tom  was  only 
slightly  acquainted  with  our  language,  but  he  was  a  curiosity  to  the 
people  thereabouts,  and  was  a  frequent  and  welcome  visitor  at  a  wagon 
shop  where  Joseph  Holman  was  a  constant  workman. 

Joseph  Holman  was  of  English  birth,  left  the  mother  country  in  his 
18th  year  for  Canada,  where  an  uncle  resided,  and  came  to  Peoria  two 
years  afterwards.  He  was  22  years  of  age,  vigorous  and  charmed  with 
the  thought  of  advenmre  in  a  new  and  comparatively  unknown  coun- 
try. Indian  Tom  explained  to  him  and  others  the  greatness  of  the 
Columbia,  gave  such  graphic  descriptions,  as  an  Indian  would,  of  the 
immense  number  of  salmon  in  its  waters,  caught  with  such  ease  and 
possessing  such  excellence  that  the  various  tribes  derived  a  great  portion 
of  their  food  supplies  from  that  source,  their  lodges  being  hung  over- 
head with  many  rows  of  the  now  world  renowned  fat  Chinook  salmon. 

Holman  was  a  cooper  as  well  as  a  wagon  maker,  and  it  became  an 
absorbing  idea  with  him  and  others  that  great  money  was  to  be  made 


102    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

by  catching,  curing,  and  pickling  these  fish  and  shipping  them  to  the 
Eastern  and  foreign  markets.  Also  they  fancied  that  the  time  must  soon 
come  when  population  would  move  to  the  Pacific  and  a  great  commerce 
spring  up  that  would  call  for  a  city  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  that 
should  be  the  New  York  of  the  Pacific.^" 

Thomas  Jefiferson  Farnham  became  the  leader  of  the  small  party 
of  nineteen  men  from  Peoria  who  made  the  venturesome  overland 
expedition  to  Oregon  in  the  spring  of  1839.  In  colorful  array 
the  little  band,  just  before  their  departure,  drew  up  before  the 
Peoria  courthouse,  where  a  prayer  was  ofifered  for  a  safe  journey. 
Joseph  Holman  and  seven  other  members  of  this  little  company 
eventually  reached  the  Willamette  Valley/® 

After  his  departure  from  Peoria,  Jason  Lee  and  the  four  Indian 
lads  proceeded  northward  toward  the  village  of  Chicago.  This  is 
Lee's  brief  reference  to  his  Chicago  visit:  "Oa.  8 — ^Had  an  inter- 
esting time  at  Chicago.  Colleaion,  $40.35."  ''^ 

From  Chicago  Lee  traveled  to  New  York  State  "by  way  of  the 
lakes."  At  Detroit  his  boat  stopped  for  a  few  hours  on  Sunday, 
Oaober  21,  and  his  reference  to  it  is  as  follows: 

Sunday  21. — Steamboat  remained  a  few  hours  at  Detroit,  and  in  the 
meantime  I  went  on  shore,  and  was  almost  compelled  to  address  a 
small  congregation  assembled  for  worship.  They  had  no  previous  in- 
timation that  a  collection  would  be  taken  up,  and  I  should  have  thought 
$10  a  liberal  collection  for  such  an  assembly  imder  such  circumstances, 
but  the  result  was  $30.^* 

One  week  later  Lee  arrived  at  Utica,  New  York.  Here  his  com- 
pany of  Indian  boys  was  reduced  to  three.   At  the  near-by  town 

***  S.  A.  Clarke,  Pioneer  Days  in  Oregon  History  (Portland,  1905),  II,  p. 
442;  Transactions  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  1896,  p.  93;  Joseph  Holman, 
The  Peoria  Party  for  Oregon  in  1839,  MS.  (Bancroft  Library),  pp.  1,  2. 

^^  T.  J.  Farnham,  Travels  in  the  Western  Prairies,  reprinted  in  R.  G. 
Thwaites,  Early  Western  Travels,  XXIX,  pp.  10,   11. 

^''  Zion's  Herald,  December  19,  1838,  IX,  p.  202. 

^Ubid. 


LEE'S  EASTERN  TRIP,  1838  103 

of  Fairfield  one  of  the  Indian  boys,  William  C  McKay,  was 
enrolled  in  a  medical  school  situated  there. 

Arrival  in  New  York.  Lee,  with  William  Brooks,  the  Chinook 
Indian  boy,  and  the  two  remaining  McKay  boys,  John  T.  and 
Alexander,  pushed  forward  toward  his  destination.  On  October 
31,  1838,  after  a  journey  of  seven  months,  he  arrived  safely  in 
New  York  City.'' 

*"  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  November  9,  1838,  XIII,  p.  AG. 


CHAPTER  VII 
LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION 

Board  votes  appropriation.  After  reaching  New  York  City,  Lee 
successfully  presented  his  mission  needs  to  the  Board  of  Managers 
of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Church  ^  at  a  special 
meeting  held  November  14,  1838/  On  December  5,  the  Mission 
Board  approved  plans  calling  for  an  appropriation  of  $40,000 
for  the  Oregon  Mission.  This  extensive  program  was  to  include 
the  addition  of  a  number  of  ecclesiastical  and  lay  helpers.  Pro- 
vision was  made  for  five  ministers,  one  physician,  four  women 
teachers,  and  a  stewardess.  The  group  of  lay  assistants  was  to 
include  a  mission  steward  or  business  agent,  two  carpenters,  a 
cabinetmaker,  a  blacksmith,  and  two  farmers.  The  Board  also 
voted  a  generous  amount  for  farm  machinery,  equipment  for  the 
construaion  of  mills,  garden  seeds,  and  an  appropriation  of  $5,000 
for  merchandise.' 

Fund-raising  campaign.  In  early  December  the  Board  requested 
Jason  Lee  to  assist  in  a  campaign  to  raise  funds  for  the  Oregon 
Mission.  So  successful  was  Lee  in  these  appeals  that  during  the 
six  months'  period  from  December,  1838,  to  June,  1839,  his  stay 
in  the  East  consisted  of  an  almost  continuous  succession  of  mis- 
sionary meetings.  He  conduaed  three  extended  missionary  tours. 
In  his  first,  or  Southern  tour,  he  spoke  in  twelve  cities  and  towns 
in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia  and  Washington,  D.  C.  His  second 
campaign  included  thirty  speaking  engagements  through  New 
England,  northward  from  Conneaicut  to  Canada.    His  farewell 

^  Atwood,  The  Conquerors,  p.  68. 

^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  November  23,  1838,  XIII,  p.  54. 
'  $30,000  on  May  8,  1839,  and  $10,000  on  August  14,  1839.   From  Journal 
of  Foreign  Mission  Board. 

104 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     105 

tour    included    a    series    of    day-by-day    speaking    engagements 
through  nineteen  cities  and  towns  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

Before  beginning  his  Southern  tour,  Lee  filled  a  number  of 
speaking  engagements  in  New  York  City  and  vicinity.  The  pres- 
ence of  Lee  and  his  Indian  wards  in  New  York  City  churches  drew 
crowded  audiences  in  early  November.  A  news  item  in  the  New 
York  Spectator,  November,  1838,  indicates  that  the  tall  and  pic- 
turesque Oregon  missionary  had  captured  the  attention  of  New 
York's  lay  public.  The  item  follows: 

The  Rev.  Jason  Lee  is,  as  the  public  know,  now  *  in  this  city,  having 
with  him  three  Indian  youths  from  the  Oregon  Territory.  By  invitation 
of  the  Mayor,  Mr.  Lee,  with  his  charge,  accompanied  by  Col.  McKen- 
ney  and  other  gentlemen,  visited  the  City  Hall  today,  the  interior  of 
which  the  Mayor,  with  his  accustomed  politeness,  threw  open  for  the 
inspection  of  the  visitors.  The  Indians  took  great  interest  in  the  paint- 
ings, and  made  very  judicious  comparisons,  always  however,  concluding 
that  those  in  military  costume  were  the  best.^ 

This  same  lay  interest  is  revealed  in  another  early  November 
incident.  Lee  and  Dr.  Nathan  Bangs,  the  corresponding  secretary 
of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Church,  were  return- 
ing by  steamboat  from  a  brief  upstate  New  York  speaking  tour. 
This  is  Dr.  Bangs'  account  of  their  downstream  journey: 

On  Wednesday  ^  at  5  o'clock  p.m.,  we  met  on  the  steamboat  at 
Newburgh,  on  our  return  to  New  York.  In  the  course  of  the  evening, 
having  obtained  liberty  of  the  captain,  the  passengers  were  informed,  if 
they  desired  it,  Mr.  Lee  would  give  them  a  narration  of  his  journey 
over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  a  short  description  of  the  country. 
Having  signified  their  wish  to  hear  it,  they  seated  themselves  accord- 
ingly, and  listened  with  great  attention  for  more  than  an  hour  to  this 
interesting  narrative.  Dr.  Cummings,  a  Presbyterian  minister  from 
Florida,  N.  Y.,  then  concluded  the  exercise  with  a  prayer.   A  gentle- 

*  November  12,  1838. 

^  New  York  Spectator,  reproduced  in  Zion's  Herald,  November  28,  1838, 
IX,  p.  190. 

«  November  7,  1838. 


106    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

man  then  proposed  a  colleaion  which  amounted  to  $10.79.  It  would 
doubtless  have  been  much  more  had  not  several  of  the  passengers  dis- 
persed before  the  colleaion  was  announced. 

About  10  o'clock,  p.m.,  we  landed  in  the  city  of  New  York,  thankful 
for  the  favor  shown  to  the  cause  in  which  we  were  engaged. '^ 

Another  of  Lee's  pleasant  side  trips  made  before  the  beginning 
of  his  first  formal  missionary  tour  was  his  voyage  across  Long 
Island  Sound  to  Bridgeport,  Connecticut.  The  amount  donated 
here,  $195,  foretold  the  successes  that  awaited  the  Oregon  mis- 
sionary in  later  stages  of  his  campaign. 

On  Sunday,  November  18,  Lee  with  his  four  Indian  lads  de- 
parted for  Wilbraham,  Massachusetts.  On  Tuesday,  November  20, 
he  stopped  at  Middletown  and  had  an  interesting  day  in  the  little 
college  town.  While  here  he  wrote  this  hurried  letter  to  David 
Leslie,  Aaing  Superintendent  of  the  Willamette  Mission: 

Letter  to  Superintendent  Leslie. 

New  York  Nov.  21,  1828  [1838] 
My  Dear  Bro. 

Dr.  Bangs  told  me  he  had  written  you  and  I  hope  he  has  told  you 
what  the  prospeas  are  here  for  I  have  not  time  to  do  it.  It  is  now 
nearly  12  O'clock  at  night  and  I  am  weary,  and  must  refer  you  to  bro. 
Shepards  letter  for  an  account  of  what  I  am  trying  to  do. 

I  saw  one  of  Bro.  Pierce's  sons  yesterday  at  Middletown,  he  enquired 
after  you  and  family.  I  asked  for  twenty-seven  men  and  their  wives  to 
be  sent  to  Oregon,  but  the  Committee  to  whom  the  subjea  was  referred 
did  not  advise  but  seventeen,  and  that  report  is  not  yet  acted  upon. 

I  think  I  shall  succeed  in  getting  forty  men  and  women,  (and  how 
many  children  I  cannot  say.)  For  their  support  I  shall  trust  to  the 
resources  of  Oregon  you  will  therefore  make  an  estimate  of  what  will 
be  needed  for  to  keep  such  a  host,  and  contraa  with  the  settlers  for  a 
sufficient  quantity  if  possible,  and  if  there  should  be  more  than  is 
wanted  we  can  send  it  oflF  in  the  Vessel.  By  contraaing  before  our 
arrival  you  will  probably  get  things  cheaper  than  after. 

From  some  letters  written  by  Bro.  Perkins  his  Con.[ference}  learned 
'  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  November  16,  1838,  XIII,  p.  50. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     107 

that  he  was  not  sound  in  the  faith  and,  they  therefore  left  his  name  off 
the  Minutes. 

I  must  close  though  I  have  not  time  to  tell  you  why  I  write  so  short. 
My  Love  to  All 

Yours,  Jason  Lee. 

P.  S.  A  Missionary  Steward  will  probably  be  given  us  with  5,000  Five 
Thousand  Dollars  worth  of  goods.  Therefore  pay  as  little  out  of  the 
store  at  Vancouver  for  the  Provisions  you  may  purchase,  as  may  be,  as 
it  will  probably  be  better  for  us  to  pay  our  own  goods.  We  shall  not 
probably  be  there  before  the  crops  of  .39  will  be  gathered  in.  Do  not 
be  afraid  of  purchasing  too  much  for  I  would  not  like  to  have  our 
people  starve  the  first  year. 

In  hast 

J.  Lee.« 
Rev.  David  Leslie 

Willamette  (Oregon  Ter., 
Care  of  James  Douglas  Esqr.) 

At  Wilbraham.  On  November  25,  1838,  Lee  visited  his  Alma 
Mater,  Wilbraham  Academy.  The  primary  purpose  of  this  journey 
was  to  enroll  in  the  academy  John  T.  and  Alexander  McKay,  the 
two  young  sons  of  Thomas  McKay,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
leader.  They  were  also  grandsons  of  Mrs.  McLoughlin,  Lee's 
hostess  at  Fort  Vancouver  on  many  happy  occasions  during  his 
isolated  four  years  of  Oregon  life.  The  Wilbraham  reporter  makes 
this  reference  to  Lee's  two  Indian  charges: 

Two  of  the  Indian  boys  remain  at  the  Academy,  as  they  were  sent 
out  by  their  father  to  be  educated.  Neither  of  them  are  pious,  though 
seriously  disposed,  and  of  good  morals.  We  commend  them  to  the 
prayers  of  Christians,  that  the  spirit  of  grace  may  lead  to  the  Lamb  of 
God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  We  hope  that  they  will 
not  only  become  thoroughly  educated,  but  devoutly  pious,  that  on  their 
return  to  their  own  coimtry  they  may  be  qualified  to  be  extremely  useful, 
both  as  men  and  Christians. ° 

^  Lee  to  Leslie,  Oregon  Historical  Society,  Manuscript  CoUeaion,  p.  5. 
"  Zion's  Herald,  December  19,  1838,  IX,  p.  202. 


108    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

The  following  intimate  account  of  the  meeting  at  Wilbraham 
appeared  in  Zion's  Herald,  Boston,  on  December  19: 

Br.  Jason  Lee,  accompanied  by  three  Indian  youths  from  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  visited  us,  and  spent  the  Sabbath  of  the  twenty-fifth 
of  November  in  this  place.  At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  he  held  a 
missionary  meeting.  It  was  doubted  whether  much  could  be  raised,  as 
the  people  had  recently  contributed  so  freely  to  the  African  Mission. 

The  meeting  was  appointed,  and  the  exercises  commenced  with  sing- 
ing, by  the  Indians.  After  prayer,  Br.  Lee  addressed  the  meeting  for 
more  than  an  hour,  in  a  manner  and  spirit  showing  that  his  whole  soul 
was  in  his  work,  and  well  calculated  to  aflfect  most  deeply  every  heart 
which  heard  him.  He  gave  an  account  of  his  journey  over  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  the  commencement,  progress  and  present  state  of  the  Mis- 
sion, together  with  some  of  their  labors,  privations,  suflferings,  and 
encouragements. 

He  fully  and  satisfactorily  answered  the  question,  "What  have  they 
been  doing  all  this  time  in  Oregon.^"  Indeed,  it  seemed  almost  miracu- 
lous, they  have  done  so  much  when  we  take  into  consideration  their 
means. 

It  would  be  fruitless  in  me  to  attempt  a  description  of  the  address. 
He  must  be  heard  and  seen,  in  order  to  have  a  correct  idea  of  Brother 
Lee  and  the  interest  he  feels  for  the  Oregon  Mission.  I  think  I  never 
attended  a  meeting  of  greater  interest,  nor  ever  saw  a  nobler  specimen 
and  example  of  what  a  Missionary  should  be.^° 

A  rapid  stage  journey  brought  Jason  Lee  to  Boston  where  he 
arrived  on  Monday,  November  26.  He  was  accompanied  by  Wil- 
liam Brooks,  the  Chinook  Indian  boy,  who  was  to  assist  him  so 
effectively  in  forthcoming  months  in  appealing  for  funds  and 
reinforcements  for  the  Oregon  Mission.  Zion's  Herald  noted 
Lee's  brief  visit  in  the  following  news  item: 

Rev.  Jason  Lee  visited  this  city  last  week,  accompanied  by  one  of  the 
Flathead  Indians  [William  Brooks.]  He  came  on  Monday,  and  left 
the  following  Friday.  Owing  to  the  shortness  of  the  notice  which  we 
had  of  his  intended  visit,  and  the  hurry  of  business  always  attendant 

^"^  Zion's  Herald,  December  19,  1838,  IX,  p.  202. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     109 

upon  the  first  part  of  Thanksgiving  week,  and  likewise  to  the  circum- 
stance that  his  visit  was  upon  business,  no  pubUc  meeting  was  held. 
He  will  visit  Boston  again,  and  probably  spend  a  week  or  two,  when 
public  meetings  will  no  doubt  be  held  in  various  churches.  If  he  is 
invited,  he  may  visit  also,  some  of  the  largest  stations  in  the  Conference. 

The  Indian  whom  Br.  Lee  has  brought  with  him  appears  intelligent. 
He  can  speak  and  read  English,  and  is  fond  of  books,  especially  the 
Bible  and  religious  books. 

We  hope  a  fire  will  be  kindled  among  us  in  behalf  of  the  Oregon 
Mission  by  the  visit  of  Br.  Lee,  which  will  never  burn  dim  until  the 
whole  race  of  Indians  is  converted  to  God ;  indeed,  not  until  the  whole 
world  is.^^ 

Tour  of  the  South.  The  opening  engagement  of  Lee's  Southern 
tour  was  in  Philadelphia  on  the  evening  of  December  4,  1838. 
This  occasion  was  signalized  by  an  address  by  Lieutenant  W.  A. 
Slacum,  who  will  be  remembered  as  the  official  visitor  from  the 
Federal  Government  to  Oregon.  ^^ 

An  unusual  feature  of  the  Philadelphia  meeting  was  the  speech 
of  William  Brooks,  the  Chinook  Indian  boy.  Brooks'  fervent  plea 
for  the  financial  support  of  the  distant  mission  station  where  he 
had  so  recently  received  instruaion  was  listened  to  with  deep  in- 
terest. His  remarks  were  translated  to  the  audience  by  his  patron, 
Jason  Lee.  The  colleaion,  $512.26,  taken  at  the  close  of  this 
meeting,  was  the  largest  donated  by  any  gathering  during  the 
Eastern  tour.^' 

Two  visits  to  the  Federal  capital  and  vicinity.  At  Washington, 
D.  C,  Lee's  first  engagement  was  at  Wesley  Chapel  on  Tuesday 
evening,  December  18,  1838.  The  National  Intelligencer  of  De- 
cember 18  carried  this  brief  announcement  of  the  meeting: 

Missionary  Meeting  at  Wesley  Chapel 
The  1st  anniversary  of  the  Wesley  Chapel  Missionary  Society  will 
take  place  in  said  Church  this  evening  at  half  past  six  o'clock,  when  the 

"Ziow'j  Herald,  December  5,  1838,  IX,  p.  195. 

^^See  pp.  284-291. 

^'  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  January  4,  1839,  XIII,  p.  77. 


no   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Rev.  Jason  Lee,  Missionary  from  the  Oregon  Territory  together  with  a 
youth  from  the  Flat  Head  Tribe  of  Indians,  will  address  the  meeting 
and  a  colleaion  will  be  taken  up  in  aid  of  the  Missions  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church.  Addresses  may  be  expected  from  other 
gentlemen.^* 

Dr.  Thomas  Sewall,  Jr.,  son  of  the  venerable  chairman  of  the 
occasion,  referred  aflPeaionately  to  Jason  Lee  as  a  former  Wilbra- 
ham  Academy  roommate.^"  The  amount  donated  and  subscribed 
at  this  meeting  reached  the  generous  total  of  $399.95.'^^  Lee's 
second  Washington  meeting  was  held  on  December  31.  Two  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  Representatives  Patrick  Gaines  Goode,  Sidney, 
Ohio,  and  Calvary  Morris,  Athens,  Ohio,  were  the  speakers  on  this 
occasion.^'  Adding  a  touch  of  color  to  this  event  was  the  speech 
of  William  Brooks.  It  was  at  this  meeting  that  the  young  Chinook 
boy  attempted  his  first  speech  in  English.  With  deep  emotion  he 
delivered  his  appeal  in  expressive  but  somewhat  ambiguous  Eng- 
lish. "His  tears  spoke  with  resistless  eloquence,"  is  the  phrase 
used  by  an  observer.^® 

William  Brooks,  Chinook  Indian.  Later,  Jason  Lee  paid  this 
tribute  to  William  Brooks'  part  in  contributing  to  the  success  of 
this  missionary  tour: 

We  went  to  Washington,  where  we  remained  several  days.  Here  the 
propriety  of  his  condua,  and  his  Christian-like  deportment  were  the 
subjects  of  remark  by  many,  and  they  could  not  refrain  from  expressing 
surprise,  that  in  so  short  a  time,  and  with  so  few  advantages,  a  son  of 
the  forest  could  adopt  our  customs  to  such  an  extent,  and  learn  to 
behave  with  such  perfect  propriety  at  table  and  elsewhere. 

"^^  National  Intelligencer,  "Washington,  D.   C,   December   18,   1838. 

^  ^  Thomas  Sewall  is  listed  in  the  Wesleyan  Academy,  Wilbraham,  Mass., 
catalogue  as  enrolled  for  the  spring  term,  April,  1830.  His  residence  is  given 
as  Washington  City,  his  boarding  place  at  Rev.  J.  Foster's.  His  rooming  place 
is  not  listed.     Lee's  rooming  place  is  listed  as  "at  the  academy." 

^°  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  January  4,  1839,  XIII,  p.  77. 

^'  Biographical  Directory  of  the  American  Congress,  1774-1927,  House 
document  783,  69th  Congress,  2d  Session  (Washington,  D.  C,  1928),  pp. 
181,  1020,  1335. 

^^  Christian  Advocate  and  journal,  February  15,  1839,  XIII,  p.  102. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     HI 

Though  I  have  seen  him  at  table  scores  of  times  with  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  in  various  parts  of  the  Union,  yet  I  never  in  a  single  instance 
saw  him,  by  accident  or  through  ignorance,  do  anything  that  would  be 
considered  outlandish  even  by  the  polite  or  well-bred. 

He  addressed,  in  his  own  language,  all  the  meetings  we  attended  in 
Washington,  except  at  the  Nazareth  ^ "  station,  where  he  made  his  first 
effort  in  English.;  Knowing  it  had  been  but  about  three  years  since  he 
learned  his  first  English  word,  and  that,  instead  of  being  at  school 
that  length  of  time,  he  had  labored  much  upon  the  farm,  and  had  been 
travelling  nearly  a  year  with  scarcely  any  opportunity  for  study,  I  of 
course,  expeaed  a  failure.  But  I  was  agreeably  disappointed,  as  well 
as  the  congregation.  There  were  present  two  members  of  Congress,  who 
addressed  the  meeting,  and  they  assured  me  that  they  were  greatly 
and  agreeably  surprised  .  .  .  that  they  could  not  have  anticipated  such 
shrewd,  appropriate,  and  intelligent  remarks  from  a  youth  under  such 
circumstances.  .  .  . 

Seldom  did  he  arise  to  address  a  congregation  without  bringing 
forward  something  new  and  striking  that  he  had  not  mentioned  in  any 
previous  address;  so  that,  contrary  to  what  might  be  expected,  his 
daily  communications,  instead  of  becoming  stale  and  tiresome  to  me, 
by  their  tame  monotony,  were  always  interesting,  and  sometimes  de- 
lightful, pathetic,  and  thrilling,  even  beyond  anything  I  had  dared  to 
hope  from  him.^° 

While  in  the  Washington  area  Lee  visited  several  near-by  com- 
munities in  the  interest  of  his  mission.  His  two  successful  meet- 
ings in  Alexandria,  six  miles  from  Washington,  drew  this  letter 
from  a  resident  to  the  local  Methodist  minister: 

Alexandria,  Dec.  18,  1838. 
Dear  Sir,  I  was  pleased  with  the  missionary  sermon  I  heard  in  your 
church  last  Sabbath  morning;  it  forcibly  reminded  me  of  a  duty  we 
owe  our  fellowmen,  that  we  are  but  too  much  disposed  to  neglect.  I 
was  also  pleased  last  night  that  he  brought  to  our  view  the  destitute 
situation  of  the  Indians  and  others  in  the  far  west.  I  hereby  subscribe 
my  pittance  of  fifty  dollars,  which  I  am  ready  to  pay  over  to  Elder  Lee 

^®  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  reports  indicate  that  Lee  meant  "Eben- 
ezer"  Station  here.   See  ibid.,  February  15,  1839,  XIII,  p.  102. 
""^Ibid.,  October  4,  1839,  XIV,  p.  25. 


112    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

as  soon  as  he  is  ready  to  start  oflF  to  the  west  to  appropriate  it,  having 
full  confidence  in  his  Christian  character  that  he  will  use  what  is  com- 
mitted to  his  charge  beneficially.  I  hope  he  will  return  as  soon  as  he 
can  make  it  convenient  to  do  so. 

Very  respectfully, 

Jno.  Withers.  ^^ 
Elder  G.  Roszell. 

Lee  and  Brooks  presented  the  claims  of  the  Oregon  Mission 
before  the  Foundry  Missionary  Society  of  Baltimore  on  December 
19,  1838." 

While  in  Baltimore  and  its  vicinity,  William  Brooks  saw  a 
blind  Methodist  colored  man,  who  because  of  deep  religious  faith 
was  radiantly  happy  despite  his  affliction.  In  his  addresses  after 
leaving  Baltimore,  an  impressive  feature  was  this  reference  to  the 
blind  Baltimore  Negro: 

I  saw  something  I  never  shall  forget.  I  saw  old  blind  man  in  Balti- 
more. He's  colored  man — ^he  belongs  to  our  Church.  He  can't  read,  he 
can't  see  nothing,  but  he  sees  Jesus  Christ.  Children,  you  say  that  old 
blind  man,  colored  man,  miserable — but  he  be  very  happy.  O,  I  love 
that  old  man,  because  he  love  Jesus  Christ.  But  great  many  men  saucy 
to  me,  and  I  go  on.  My  heart  says,  I  not  come  here  to  see  that  kind 
men.  I  come  here  to  see  all  good  friends.  I  saw  great  many  men, 
bright  like  silver.  These  don't  care  what  say  God  in  Bible.  If  they  die, 
that  old  man  go  in  heaven;  and  these  rich  men — where  they  go  to? 
You  see  children,  how  much  more  better  if  he  die  and  go  in  heaven. 
I  shall  never  forgit  him  again. ^^ 

Lee  also  held  a  meeting  at  Winchester,  Virginia,  one  of  the  most 
southerly  points  visited.  The  little  Southern  village  donated  one 
hundred  dollars.**  Retracing  his  journey  northward,  Lee  on  Janu- 
ary 3,  1839,  delivered  a  "spirit-stirring"  address  at  West  Chester, 
Pennsylvania.  The  contribution  of  this  generous  audience  was  two 
Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  January  11,  1839,  XIII,  p.  82. 


21 

*^  Ibid.,  March  13,  1839,  XIII,  p.  il8. 


*' William    Brooks'    Boston    Speech,    Zion's   Herald,    February    13,    1839, 

p.  27. 

'*  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  March  8,  1839,  XIII,  p.  113. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     113 

hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars.  Lee's  eloquence  drew  this  tribute 
from  a  listener  who  reported  the  meeting  to  the  Christian  Advo- 
cate: "Should  brother  Lee  as  effeaively  leave  his  mark  wherever 
he  goes,  the  people  will  soon  bring  their  tithes  into  the  store- 
house of  the  Lord,  and  will  open  the  windows  of  heaven  and  pour 
out  upon  the  heathen  a  blessing  that  there  shall  not  be  room 
enough  to  receive  it."  ^^ 

A  crowded  meeting  at  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  on  January  10, 
1839,  brought  to  a  close  his  Southern  tour.  So  deep  was  the  in- 
terest of  this  gathering  that  "the  church  was  much  crowded  at  an 
early  hour;  scores  who  came  at  a  distance  were  unable  to  gain 
admittance.  The  audience  listened  with  fixed  attention.  .  .  /' 
The  Advocate  report  of  this  meeting  contains  this  expressive 
phrase:  "The  colleaion  and  pledges  amounted  to  $150,  the  most 
of  which  I  will  soon  remit.  The  amount  would  have  been  greater 
but  for  the  crowd."  ""^ 

The  New  England  campaign.  The  initial  meeting  of  Lee's  New 
England  tour  was  held  at  New  Haven,  Conneaicut,  on  January 
15,  1839.  The  young  Qiinook  lad,  in  his  address,  denounced  the 
Eastern  ministers  who  were  interested  merely  in  the  economic 
resources  of  his  homeland,  Oregon.  "Great  many  ministers,  when 
he  ask  me,  'You  got  everything  good  in  your  country?'  I  tell  him, 
'No,  sir.'  He  ask  me,  'You  got  plenty  good  houses  in  your 
country?'  I  say,  'No,  sir.'  Then  he  say,  'I  not  go  in  your  country,' 
Now  I  don't  call  that  Christian  at  all;  I  say,  'You  stay  home, 
sir.'  "  '' 

Lee  held  an  enthusiastic  public  meeting  in  the  Methodist  church 
of  Middletown  on  January  16.  William  Brooks'  denunciation  of 
white  men  who  carried  rum  to  Oregon  Indians  captured  the  atten- 
tion of  the  large  evening  audience.  "One  thing,  my  friends," 
said  Brooks,  "I  must  have  put  in  paper  [newspapers]  that 
no    more    these    Americans    carry    rum    in    my    country,    spoil 

*'  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  January  25,  1839,  XIII,  p.  90. 
"^^  Ibid.,  April  5,  1839,  XIII,  p.  130. 

*''  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  October  4,  1839,  XIV,  p.  25.    Colum- 
bian Weekly  Register,  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  January  12,  1839. 


114   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

all  Indians.  He  make  it  himself,  he  must  drink  it  himself,  these 
Yankees." 

Jason  Lee,  later  referring  to  this  remark  by  young  Brooks, 
wrote:  "The  manner  of  delivering  the  above  was  such  as  simul- 
taneously  to  excite  the  risibles  of  nearly  every  one  in  the  house; 
and  the  lamented  Dr.  Fisk,  who  sat  on  the  platform  behind  the 
pulpit,  laughed  more  heartily  than  I  remember  to  have  seen  him 
on  any  other  public  occasion."  "^  President  Fisk,  of  Wesleyan 
University,  despite  his  sufferings  from  the  last  stages  of  a  fatal 
illness,  honored  this  meeting  with  his  presence.  The  plea  which 
this  towering  figure  of  Methodism  made  at  this  meeting  proved 
to  be  his  last  public  utterance  in  support  of  Lee's  Oregon  Mission. 
His  presence  refleaed  not  merely  Dr.  Fisk's  deep  concern  for  the 
cause  of  missions,  but  his  abiding  interest  in  his  former  student. 

Father  of  the  Oregon  Mission.  Holdick,  in  his  Life  of  Dr.  Fisk, 
has  preserved  an  illuminating  incident  of  Lee's  Middletown  visit, 
which  appears  in  no  other  contemporaneous  soiurce.  This  century- 
old  biography  of  Lee's  beloved  teacher  and  mentor  furnishes 
ample  proof  that  Dr.  Wilbur  Fisk,  beloved  "saint"  of  early 
Methodism,  has  claims  to  that  affeaionate  title  sometimes  con- 
ferred upon  him,  "Father  of  the  Oregon  Mission." 

Three  weeks  before  Dr.  Fisk's  decease  [wrote  Professor  Holdick} 
Mr.  Lee  visited  Middletown  to  confer  with  him  on  the  interests  of  the 
mission,  and  while  here  held  a  public  meeting  in  reference  to  it.  On 
the  afternoon  preceding  the  meeting,  which  was  held  in  the  evening, 
they  were  several  hours  in  consultation  upon  the  subjea,  the  result  of 
which  was,  that  Dr.  Fisk  sketched  a  plan  for  the  employment  and  loca- 
tion of  about  thirty  additional  labourers  in  that  field.  The  paper,  in  his 
own  handwriting,  is  now  before  me.  The  re- enforcement  sailed  from 
New- York  the  following  September. 

In  the  evening  Dr.  Fisk  attended  the  meeting,  which  was  held  in  the 
Methodist  Church,  and  took  part  in  the  exercises.  It  was  his  last 
appearance  in  an  earthly  sanctuary.  Thus  his  final  labors  in  public  were 
in  behalf  of  the  Oregon  Mission.^' 

^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  Oaober  4,  1839,  XIV,  p.  25. 
**' Joseph  Holdick,  Life  of  Wilbur  Fisk,  D.D.,  p.  434. 


( 


I 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     115 

The  "plan"  which  Dr.  Fisk  "sketched  ...  for  the  employ- 
ment and  location  of  about  thirty  additional  laborers"  in  the  Old 
Oregon  field  has  been  preserved  through  the  marching  years 
of  nearly  a  century.  Ninety-two  years,  almost  to  a  day,  after  the 
memorable  conference  between  Dr.  Fisk  and  Jason  Lee  at  Middle- 
town,  Dr.  Fisk's  rough  draft  of  an  enlarged  Oregon  Mission 
reached  the  present  writer.  The  sketch  is  written  plainly  in  black 
ink,  and  on  a  piece  of  stationery  bearing  a  stamped  seal  of  the 
British  Crown  and  marked  "Bath,"  this  stationery  presumably 
being  a  souvenir  of  Dr.  Fisk's  recent  visit  to  England  at  which 
time  he  stopped  at  a  "royal"  hotel.  This  rough  sketch  of  a 
"greater  Oregon  mission"  possesses  unique  interest  in  that  it  is 
the  first  known  draft  which  clearly  designates  as  mission  stations, 
sites  that,  in  the  years  which  followed,  have  blossomed  into 
flourishing  towns  and  cities  of  the  modern  Pacific  Northwest. 

An  exact  transcript  of  Dr.  Fisk's  plan  reads  as  follows: 


Transcript  of  the  Plan  for  an  Enlarged  Program  of  Nine 
Mission  Stations,  Sketched  by  Jason  Lee  and  Dr.  Fisk  at 
jv&ddletown  on  the  afternoon  of  january  l6,  1839. 


Willamette  M. 


Umpqua 


Willamette  Falls 

250  Cheenook 
130  Clatsop 
Tillamooks 


1  Assistant  Farmer 

1  Missionary  Steward 

1  Teacher 

1  Cabinetmaker 

3  Carpenters  &  Joiners 

1  Missionary 
1  Farmer 
1  Physician 


Sandiams  Fork  1  Missionary 


1  Mssionary  Physician 


1  Physician 
1  Carpenter 
1  Missionary 


South  of  Willamette 
150  miles 

Branch  of  the  Willam- 
ette 30  miles 

25  miles 

Mouth  of  the  Columbia 
poor  land 


116   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Nesqually  1  Missionary  Puget  sound — ^North 


Cowelits 


Wascopan 
Daniels'  Mission 


N.  W.  or  S.  W. 

Coast 


1  Missionary 
1  Farmer 

1  Farmer 
1  Missionary 


1  Millwright 
1  Physician 
1  Carpenter 
1  Blacksmith 

1  Missionary 
1  Physician' ° 


Small  river  coming  in 
North  Columbia  half- 
way between  V.  Cov  & 
the  mouth  C. 

By  water  150  miles  half 
distance  by  mountain 
rout 


Connecticut.  On  January  18,  1838,  Lee  held  a  missionary  meet- 
ing at  Hartford,  the  capital  of  Conneaicut.  Here  ''the  crowd  was 
immense;  hundreds  went  away  unable  to  gain  admittance  into  the 
church."  ^^  By  rapid  winter  stage  journeys,  Lee  completed  his 
tour  of  Connecticut  cities.  On  Sunday,  January  21,  he  addressed 
the  two  large  Methodist  congregations  of  Norwich,  which  as- 
sembled in  the  spacious  East  Chelsea  Church.  William  Brooks  at 
this  gathering  touched  the  emotions  of  his  large  audience  by  a 
feeling  tribute  to  his  former  Oregon  teacher,  the  late  Mrs. 
Jason  Lee: 

William  Brooks  addressed  the  audience  in  English  in  some  very 
impressive  remarks  [runs  the  report  of  this  meeting],  and,  at  the  close, 
he  spoke  with  much  feeling,  lamenting  the  death  of  our  late  sister,  Mrs. 
Lee,  who  had  been  his  teacher,  sorrowing  much  that  he  should  see  her 
face  no  more,  but  he  consoled  himself  with  that  hope  that,  if  he  lived 
as  the  Bible  taught  him,  he  should  meet  her  in  heaven. 

Jason  Lee  s  effeaiveness  in  procuring  funds  for  his  Oregon 

Mission  is  illustrated  by  this  suggestion  which  he  made  to  his 

Norwich  audience: 

*"  Lee-Fisk  Correspondence  at  Wesleyan  University,  Middletown,  Con- 
necticut. 

'^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  February  1,  1839,  XIII,  p.  94. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     117 

Mr.  Lee  .  .  .  informed  the  assembly  that  he  had  formed  a  mission- 
ary society  called  the  "First  Missionary  Society  in  Oregon"  and  in- 
quired how  many  present  would  become  life  members  of  that  society 
by  paying  ten  dollars ;  that  he  might  have  the  pleasure  of  bearing  their 
names  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  place  them  upon  his  mission- 
ary register;  and  we  were  much  gratified  in  receiving  the  names  of 
sixteen  persons  who  responded  to  the  inquiry,  .  .  .  and  two  sisters 
promised  five  dollars  each  to  make  Sister  Ransom,  the  wife  of  our 
preacher,  a  life  member.  ... 

At  this  Norwich  evening  meeting  Lee  referred  to  his  Oregon 
missionary  colleague,  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman: 

We  were  much  gratified  in  receiving  an  invitation  from  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Bond  of  the  2nd  Congregational  Church,  for  Mr.  Lee  to  hold  a 
meeting  in  their  church  in  the  evening.  He  did  so;  and  addressed  a 
very  large  assembly  who  appeared  very  much  interested  in  his  account 
of  the  mission  under  his  care,  and  particularly  of  the  [Marcus  Whit- 
man] mission  established  by  the  American  Board  beyond  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  which  he  visited  on  his  journey  to  St.  Louis.  ...  At  the 
close  of  the  services  a  collection  of  $68.18  was  taken  up,  making  .  .  . 
as  the  result  of  Mr.  Lee's  visit  to  this  city,  $366.81.** 

On  January  21,  1839,  Jason  Lee  spoke  at  West  Thompson, 
Conneaicut.  The  Z'lon's  Herald  report  of  the  West  Thompson 
evening  meeting  is  a  vital  document  that  makes  this  century-old 
winter  missionary  gathering  live  again  for  readers  of  a  radio,  air- 
craft civilization: 

Then  our  beloved  Lee,  the  first  Methodist  Missionary  who  ever  came 
here,  probably,  favored  us  with  a  "sight  and  a  hearing,"  which  will  not 
soon  be  forgotten.  The  good  seed  was  sown  on  all  sorts  of  ground, 
but  some  of  it  proved  warm  and  fertile  at  once,  and  more  will  spring 
up  by  and  by.  The  proceeds  of  the  meeting,  and  pledges  amount  to 
more  than  two  himdred  dollars  including  a  gold  necklace,  which  cost 
eight  dollars;  and  the  preacher's  wife  informs  me  that  "The  supplies 
have  not  yet  stopped."  .  .  .  Brother  Lee  said  to  me  that  "the  mission- 
ary Society  is  the  safety  valve  of  the  Church."   I  am  well  aware  of  it, 

**  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  March  1,  1839,  XIII,  p.  109. 


118    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

my  dear  brother.  .  .  .  Our  folks  gave  of  their  ''hard  earnings";  and 
among  them,  several  industrious  females  gave  five  dollars  each.  Verily 
they  shall  have  a  reward.  Stock  in  this  bank,  is  treasure  laid  up  in 
heaven.  Since  the  meeting  I  am  informed,  the  people  in  a  certain  city 
said  we  should  not  much  more  than  pay  the  stage  fare  of  Brother  Lee 
if  he  came  here.  Please  publish  the  above.  Brother  Brown,  and  thus 
contradia  their  suspicions.  Hope  they  will  not  prejudge  the  brethren 
"up  in  the  bush"  again.  Though  permitted  to  be  present  at  many  mis- 
sionary meetings  while  living  in  the  city,  yet  to  behold  the  face  of 
Brother  Lee  again,  after  a  lapse  of  five  years,  and  that  too  at  this 
peculiar  place,  gave  me  unusual  joy.'^ 

Northward  through  New  England.  Jason  Lee  held  his  first 
Massachusetts  meeting  at  Foxborough,  on  January  24,  1839.  Al- 
though scheduled  for  a  meeting  at  Lynn  the  following  evening,  he 
was  persuaded  by  a  former  Wilbraham  Academy  friend  to  lecture 
at  Walpole.  The  Zion's  Herald  report  of  this  meeting  reflects  the 
welcome  which  Lee  received  at  this  little  town.  The  friendly  re- 
porter wrote  that  Jason  Lee's  presence  brought  to  his  remembrance 
* 'scenes  of  other  years  when  the  cares  of  life  were  only  seen  in 
prospea."  He  continues  by  recording  that  "notwithstanding  the 
severity  of  the  weather,  the  interest  of  the  occasion  was  manifest 
in  an  assemblage  larger  than  our  chapel  could  contain."  That  Lee's 
young  Indian  campaign  assistant  reached  the  sympathies  of  his 
audience  is  refleaed  in  the  reference  to  the  faa  that  the  Chinook 
lad  received  "a  present  of  a  pair  of  boots  .  .  .  from  the  gentle- 
men employed  in  the  boot  faaory."  ^* 

Massachusetts.  Continuing  northward  Lee  held  a  widely  at- 
tended missionary  meeting  at  Lynn,  the  home  of  Cyrus  Shepard 
and  Susan  Downing,  on  Friday  evening,  January  25.  To  Lynn 
belongs  the  distinaion  of  having  established  as  early  as  Oaober, 
1838,  a  monthly  magazine,  the  Oregonian  and  Indian's  Advocate, 
devoted  to  stimulating  interest  in  the  American  settlement  of 
Oregon.   Since  Lee's  meeting  at  Lynn  refleas  his  leadership  both 

^^Zion's  Herald,  February  20,  1839,  X,  p.  30. 
^*'lbid.,  February  13,  1839,  X,  p.  26. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     119 

as  missionary  and  colonizer,  the  following  somewhat  extended 
reference  is  quoted: 

Rev.  Jason  Lee,  missionary  from  Oregon,  with  his  Indian  boy,  ar- 
rived in  Lynn  last  evening,  and  met  a  large  concourse  of  citizens,  in  the 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  meeting  was  opened  by  a  short 
address  from  Rev.  C.  W.  Turner,  after  which  Mr.  Lee  held  the  audi- 
ence more  than  an  hour  and  a  half  by  an  interesting  account  of  the 
progress  of  the  Mission  in  Oregon.  He  stated  that  they  had  selected 
the  valley  of  the  Willamette  river  as  the  seat  of  their  missionary  opera- 
tions, on  account  of  its  central  relation  to  other  eligible  parts  of  the 
territory  and  peculiar  advantages  for  agriculmre.  It  is  a  fertile  and 
delightful  region,  200  miles  in  length  and  from  20  to  60  miles  in 
breadth.  They  moreover  found  it  occupied  by  small  settlements  of 
traders,  who  had  taken  Indian  wives,  and  had  families  growing  up 
around  them.  Their  moral  habits  were  such  as  to  corrupt  the  Indians, 
and  he  concluded  that  their  influence  must  be  corrected  before  any 
hope  could  be  entertained  of  the  conversion  of  the  natives  around  them. 
This  was  one  of  the  principal  motives  for  establishing  the  mission  in 
their  vicinity. 

He  gave  a  striking  proof,  that  his  views  were  correct  and  his  efforts 
successful,  in  the  faa  that  they  had  obtained  the  suppression  of  a  dis- 
tillery, which  was  about  going  into  operation.  They  organized  a  tem- 
perance society,  and  by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  their  persevering 
efforts,  sustained  by  the  efficient  cooperation  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 
pany, they  prevailed  upon  nearly  all  the  settlement  to  sign  the  pledge 
of  abstinence.  They  prepared  a  written  request  that  the  distillery  might 
be  discontinued,  which  was  signed  by  some  even  who  would  not  sign 
the  pledge  of  abstinence.  The  signers  engaged  to  defray  all  the  expense, 
which  the  owners  of  the  distillery  had  thus  far  incurred,  if  they  would 
accede  to  their  wishes: — ^but  these  gentlemen,  to  their  praise  be  it 
spoken — finding  public  opinion  was  against  them,  not  only  abandoned 
their  distillery,  but  refused  to  receive  any  remuneration  for  their  pecu- 
niary loss.  The  Indians  at  first  spoke  much  in  praise  of  rum  or  "lum" 
as  they  called  it.  He  had  a  dispute  one  day  with  a  native: — "Rum  is 
very  bad,"  said  he  in  the  native  language.  "No;  lum  very  good."  "I 
say  rum  is  very  bad — it  makes  an  Indian  a  fool,  and  they  are  foolish 
enough  without  it."    The  Indian  was  struck  with  the  argument,  and 


120   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

considered  awhile,  then  repHed,  "I  love  to  kill  Indian — no  get  lum, 
no  love  to  kill  Indian."  This  was  sound  logic,  no  doubt.  Mr.  Lee  said 
he  would  not  attempt  to  draw  the  dark  picture  of  the  Indian,  in  his 
deplorable  civil  and  moral  condition. 

Slavery  was  praaised  by  several  of  the  tribes,  and  gambling  was  a 
vice  common  to  all.  When  they  had  gambled  away  their  property,  they 
would  pledge  a  hand,  an  arm,  or  a  leg,  half  the  body,  then  the  whole, 
till  they  forfeited  their  whole  person,  and  devoted  themselves  to  slavery. 
Sometimes  when  they  had  forfeited  half  their  body,  they  would  sell  the 
rest,  and  make  a  present  of  the  price  to  their  relatives  or  friends.  They 
have  a  superstitious  notion  that  when  one  dies,  his  death  is  attributable 
to  the  influence  of  some  other  man,  and  woe  unto  him  upon  whom  sus- 
picioun  lights ;  he  falls  a  victim  to  the  fury  of  the  relatives  as  soon  as  he 
comes  within  their  reach.  They  generally  hire  somebody  to  do  the  deed, 
and  he  goes  after  his  prey  under  the  protection  of  an  abominable  public 
sentiment,  that  if  one  is  hired  to  do  any  work  he  must  do  it,  and  he 
is  not  accountable  for  it.  When  caught  in  his  dark  work,  he  cries  out, 
"I  was  hired  to  do  it,  and  I  did  it,"  which  is  accounted  a  sufficient 
plea  against  all  personal  punishment. 

Notwithstanding,  these  ultra  montane  Indians  are  not  of  a  warlike 
disposition,  but  inclined  to  peace.  In  this  they  are  very  different  from 
the  Blackfeet  Indians,  whose  country  lies  in  and  about  the  Rocky 
Mountains. 

The  American  hunters  hate  these  Blackfeet  intensely,  and  think  it 
sport  to  kill  them  as  they  do  the  buffalo  of  the  prairie,  when  they  can 
catch  them  within  gim-shot.  One  day,  a  white  man  met  a  Blackfeet 
woman,  and  aimed  at  her  with  a  view,  as  he  said,  to  lame  her,  and 
then  sell  her  for  $400,  as  a  wife  to  some  hunter.  He  fired,  and  she, 
feeling  herself  shot  and  unable  to  nm,  seized  a  horse  by  the  tail,  and 
frightening  him  into  a  gallop,  escaped  from  her  pursuer  in  that  man- 
ner. Mr.  Lee  remarked  that,  notwithstanding  all  that  was  said  about 
this  tribe,  he  should  not  be  afraid  to  go  among  them  and  if  the  Church 
should  give  him  the  commission,  he  would  plant  the  standard  of  the 
cross  in  the  Blackfeet  Camp,  or  perish  in  the  attempt. 

His  appeal  to  the  Christians  present,  was  affeaing  and  powerful. 
He  said  the  world  has  gone  before  the  Church,  twenty  years,  in  every 
heathen  land,  while  Christians  were  saying,  'Tour  months  and  then 
Cometh  the  harvest." 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     121 

The  Indian  youth  succeeded  Mr.  Lee  with  some  remarks  in  the  bar- 
barous language  of  the  red  man.  Then  he  said  in  English  that  he 
had  come  a  great  way,  five  or  six  thousand  miles  to  see  them — to 
satisfy  their  curiosity.  (Thd  Indian  boy,  it  seems,  has  lost  his  reckon- 
ing a  little.)  That  he  had  seen  a  great  many  things,  new  and  strange. 
He  wondered  at  the  wickedness  he  saw.  With  the  Bible,  and  the  God 
of  the  Bible,  he  saw  the  children  here  were  rude  and  wicked;  he  had 
been  insulted  while  passing  through  the  streets,  and  his  ears  pained 
with  oaths.  He  stated  that  he  felt  much  for  his  people,  that  had  no 
God,  Bible  or  Sabbath,  that  he  could  not  sleep  for  thinking  of  it.  He 
must  go  back  and  tell  them  Jesus  died  for  them.  He  saw  in  this  coun- 
try many  churches;  but  the  Indians  had  none.  He  saw  multitudes  of 
Christians  but  few  had  gone  to  Indians.  We  had  many  Bibles,  and 
those  told  us  to  preach  to  the  Indians,  but  we  had  not  minded  them. 
I  see,  said  he,  around  me  many  carpenter  Christians  but  we  have  none; 
you  carpenter  Christians  come  over  and  help  us.  I  see  here  many  black- 
smith Christians,  but  we  have  none;  you  blacksmith  Christians  come 
over  and  help  us.  I  see  you  farmer  Christians;  you  farmer  Christians 
come  over  here  and  help  us.  Many  female  Christians;  you  female 
Christians  come  over  and  help  us.  Some  had  gone  and  died  among 
them;  one  who  had  taught  them  of  Jesus  in  Sabbath  school;  though 
he  might  return,  he  should  never  see  Mrs.  Lee  any  more.  This  was 
all  he  had  to  say. 

The  colleaion  was  then  taken  up,  which  amounted  to  about  llSO.'*^ 

Lee  closed  his  first  week  in  Massachusetts  with  a  meeting  at 
Charlestown  on  Saturday  evening,  January  26.  On  Sunday  after- 
noon, January  27,  his  strenuous  itinerary  called  for  a  meeting  at 
Newton  Upper  Falls.  On  that  same  Sunday  evening,  Lee  and  Wil- 
liam Brooks  held  the  most  notable  meeting  of  Lee's  entire  career — 
the  meeting  at  the  Br;omfield  Methodist  Church  at  Boston.  The 
desire  of  the  Boston  public  to  hear  of  Lee's  missionary  enterprise 
is  mirrored  in  this  brief  announcement  in  the  Wednesday,  January 
23,  1839,  issue  of  Zton's  Herdd: 

Rev.  Jason  Lee,  Superintendent  of  the  Methodist  E.  Mission  in  Ore- 
gon, accompanied  by  two  Indians,  natives  of  Oregon,  will  hold  a 
**  Oregonian  and  Indian's  Advocate,  January,  1839,  I,  pp.  125-127. 


122    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

meeting  for  the  benefit  of  the  missionary  cause,  next  Sabbath  evening, 
at  the  Bromfield  Street  Church,  the  services  commencing  at  half  past 
six  o'clock.  ...  As  the  meeting  will  be  one  of  intense  interest,  and 
but  few  of  the  many  who  would  like  to  be  present  can  be  accommo- 
dated with  seats  for  want  of  room,  it  is  thought  the  most  proper  way 
to  admit  by  ticket.  Tickets  can  be  had  at  the  Methodist  Book  Room, 
32  Washington  Street.   Price,  25  cents.^^ 

A  careful  study  of  Jason  Lee's  address,  which  received  the  com- 
pliment of  being  reported  in  full  in  the  conservative  and  well- 
edited  Zion's  Herald,  makes  clear  why  Jason  Lee  touched  the 
hearts  and  opened  the  pocketbooks  of  his  Eastern  audiences.  In 
the  first  place,  his  theme,  a  message  from  the  romantic  land  of 
the  "Flat  Heads,"  was  of  deep  interest  to  missionary  workers 
everywhere.  In  1839,  remembrance  was  still  fresh  of  the  story  of 
those  four  Flatheads  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  who  had  made 
their  long  pilgrimage  to  St.  Louis  and  there  poured  forth  their 
pathetic  plea  for  the  white  man's  religion.  Second,  Lee  came  as 
an  actual  resident  of  that  far-away  and  jointly  occupied  region, 
which  bore  the  romantic  name  of  Oregon.  Third,  Boston,  sepa- 
rated from  that  distant  land  by  3,000  miles  of  continent,  was  bound 
to  it  by  long-established  historical  ties.  As  early  as  the  eighteenth 
century,  Boston  whaling  ships  and  Boston  fur  traders  had  borne 
back  to  their  Massachusetts  ports  marvelous  tales  of  the  Northwest 
Coast. ^'  Fourth,  Boston  was  the  home  of  Oregon's  first  publicity 
expert,  Hall  J.  Kelley.  Fifth,  following  closely  the  pioneering 
efforts  of  Kelley,  came  the  two  widely  heralded  Oregon  expedi- 
tions of  Nathaniel  J.  Wyeth,  the  Cambridge  ice  dealer.  Wyeth's 
plan  of  ereaing  an  American  mercantile  establishment  on  the 
banks  of  the  distant  Columbia  failed,  it  is  true,  yet  his  magnificent 
undertaking  stood  forth  in  Jason  Lee's  day,  and  still  remains  one 
of  the  clearest-headed  business  projeas  launched  in  Old  Oregon  by 
any  American  business  man  since  the  days  when  Astoria  rose 
and  fell. 

^°  Zion's  Herald,  January  23,  1839,  X,  p.  17. 

"Samuel  Eliot  Morison,  Professor  of  History,  Harvard  University,  "From 
Fish  and  Furs  to  Municipal  Bonds,"  Oregon  Voter  (Pordand,  Oregon),  August 
14,  1916,  XLVI,  pp.  4-26. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     123 

Jason  Lee's  Boston  speech  is  a  sincere  and  unadorned  narrative. 
It  probably  ranks  as  the  most  graphic  piece  of  source  material  that 
tells  the  story  of  the  planting  of  Oregon's  first  mission.  It  leads 
the  present-day  writer  unconsciously  into  the  atmosphere  of  that 
autumn  day  in  1834  when  Lee's  little  missionary  party  threaded 
their  cautious  way  up  the  Willamette  Valley,  hemmed  in  by  its 
mountains  and  shrouded  in  its  wild  and  primitive  beauty. 

Lee's  Boston  address.  Lee  began  by  recounting  the  circumstances 
that  led  to  his  appointment  as  an  Oregon  missionary.  In  orderly 
fashion  and  with  Homeric  simplicity  he  told  of  his  long  journey 
over  the  dimly  blazed  Oregon  Trail: 

We  slept  four  months  and  a  half  in,  tents.  We  then  reached  Fort 
Vancouver,  a  station  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  on  the  Columbia 
River,  90  miles  from  the  ocean.  While  passing  over  the  mountains  we 
lived  tolerably  well  on  the  fresh  buffalo  meat,  but  for  about  thirty  days 
we  had  to  live  on  meat  dried,  which  was  rather  dry  living. 

After  our  arrival,  we  first  looked  about  to  find  some  suitable  place 
to  locate  our  mission.  In  ascending  the  Columbia  we  passed  the  mouth 
of  the  Willamette  River,  which  is  80  miles  from  the  ocean.  Vessels 
have  been  20  miles  up  this  river.  It  is  a  beautiful  river,  of  about  300 
miles  in  length,  and  passes  through  a  delightful  valley,  with  beautiful 
groves  of  timber  on  either  side.  On  both  sides  of  this  valley  are 
mountains  whose  summits  are  of  great  height.  From  the  Willamette 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean  is  75  miles.  Between  the  river  and  the  ocean  there 
is  a  range  of  mountains,  covered  with  a  dense  forest,  and  which  termi- 
nated in  high  bluffs  at  the  Pacific.  On  the  other  range,  some  of  the 
mountains  nearly  reach  the  clouds,  and  are  covered  with  perpetual 
snow. 

The  land  of  the  Willamette  Valley  is  good,  and  produces  good 
English  grain,  but  it  is  not  suited  to  Indian  corn.  The  climate  there 
is  much  milder  than  the  same  latimde  here.  At  45  degrees  north,  the 
rivers  do  not  freeze  in  winter,  and  the  cattle  do  not  need  fodder.  The 
prairies  are  green  all  winter,  and  the  garden  vegetables  are  left  in  the 
ground,  to  be  taken  when  wanted.  We  do  not  have  much  snow  and 
cold  weather,  but  it  rains  most  of  the  time  for  three  or  four  months. 

About  50  miles  from  the  mouth  of  this  river,  we  found  some  white 


124   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

men  who  had  commenced  farming  for  a  livelihood.  Some  of  them 
were  Americans  and  some  were  persons  who  had  come  out  in  the 
employment  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  Some  had  married  native 
Indians  for  their  wives. 

When  we  left,  we  expeaed  to  labor  among  the  Flat  Head  Indians. 
The  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  published  a  representation  of  a 
flattened  head,  and  this  tended  with  other  things  to  create  an  interest 
in  relation  to  this  tribe.  [Br.  Lee  here  observed  that  the  tribe  usually 
denominated  Flat  Heads  have  not  fiat,  but  round  heads,  and  that  the 
tribe  which  have  fiat  heads  are  the  Chinooks.]  Most  of  the  Indians 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  flatten  the  heads  of  their  children  in 
infancy.  This  youth  (pointing  to  Brooks)  has  his  flattened,  and  the 
one  in  Illinois  much  more  so.  The  process  of  flattening  is  commenced 
soon  after  birth,  and  is  finished  in  about  two  years.  It  is  done  by 
binding  two  pieces  of  wood  upon  the  head,  one  upon  the  forehead  and 
the  other  upon  the  back  part.  The  operation  is  very  painful  to  the 
little  sufferers.  They  are  pitiable  looking  objects.  Their  eyes  stand 
out  in  an  unnatural  manner,  and  they  appear  to  suffer  much  agony. 
The  head  is  not  so  flat  in  the  adult  as  in  the  infant. 

It  was  among  the  real  Flat  Heads  that  we  located  our  mission,  for  it 
was  left  with  us  to  locate  where,  in  our  opinion,  after  having  surveyed 
the  ground,  we  could  do  the  most  good.  Besides,  we  left  with  the 
impression,  that  if  we  found  the  door  open  for  missionary  operations, 
the  church  would  enter  heartily  into  the  work,  and  other  missionaries 
be  sent.  We  therefore  chose  a  central  situation,  advantageous  for  a 
principal  station. 

We  landed  where  we  are  now  in  Oct.,  1834,  and  pitched  our  tents, 
unloaded  our  canoes,  and  commenced  building  a  house.  The  rainy 
season  was  approaching,  and  I  did  not  like  the  idea  of  living  in  an 
Indian  hut.  We  labored  under  disadvantages,  for  we  were  not  carpen- 
ters. We,  however,  went  into  the  woods  and  cut  the  timber.  We  took 
the  green  trees  and  split  them,  and  hewed  out  boards  for  our  floors. 
If  we  wanted  a  door,  a  table,  or  a  coffin,  we  had  to  do  the  same.  We 
could  not  advance  very  swiftly,  and  we  did  not  finish  our  house  till 
after  the  rainy  season  had  commenced. 

We  fenced  in  some  prairie  land  when  we  had  completed  our  houses, 
and  the  first  year  we  cultivated  thirty  acres.  We  built  a  barn  and 
gathered  in  our  harvest.   Thus  far,  we  had  enjoyed  good  health.   But 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     125 

my  three  companions  were  now  taken  with  fever  and  ague,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  be  nurse,  cook,  and  farmer,  and  every  thing  beside.  At 
length  I  was  taken  down.  I  had  warning,  however,  of  its  approach, 
and  I  prepared  medicine  and  food  for  the  others  and  myself.  But  the 
next  day  one  of  the  others  was  able  to  crawl  about,  and  wait  on  us  a 
little.  We  had  consumed  our  own  stock  of  medicines,  but  Dr.  Mc- 
Loughlin  of  Vancouver,  hearing  of  our  situation,  supplied  us.  .  .  . 

We  had  not  been  in  Oregon  long,  before  we  found  it  necessary  to 
turn  our  hand  to  anything.  It  would  not  do  when  we  wanted  the 
wood  for  a  plow,  or  the  teeth  for  a  harrow,  or  the  yoke  for  our  oxen, 
to  say  that  we  did  not  know  how  to  make  them.  We  went  to  work, 
and  made  them,  and  we  were  often  surprised  ourselves  at  what  we 
accomplished. 

Mr.  Shepard  kept  the  house  and  taught  the  school.  We  had  in  the 
family  fifteen  or  twenty  orphans,  who  had  no  friends,  and  whom  God 
appeared  to  have  sent  to  us,  that  we  might  take  care  of  them.  We 
thought,  however,  that  they  came  faster  than  we  could  provide  for 
them — we  could  not,  however,  turn  them  away.  They  came  to  us 
nearly  naked,  and  we  had  no  clothes  for  them.  We  bought  some  cloth 
for  them  at  Vancouver,  but  we  were  neither  tailors  nor  mantua-makers. 
Br.  Shepard,  however,  concluded  to  try  his  hand  at  it,  as  we  had  to  be 
"Jack-at-all-trades."  He  commenced  cutting  clothes  for  boys,  and  cut 
and  made  gowns!  He  then  taught  Indian  mothers  to  make  gowns 
which  he  had  cut.  I  have  seen  Indian  women  dressed  in  gowns  made 
by  our  hands,  who  never  before  had  worn  anything  but  skins. — I  am 
better  pleased  with  Br.  Shepard's  fashions  than  yours.  They  were 
based  on  economy  and  utility.  He  therefore  declared  at  the  outset  that 
he  would  have  no  bishop's  sleeves  on  the  gowns.  It  tells  little  to  come 
forward  with  powerful  appeals  in  behalf  of  the  missions,  while  the 
tyrant  fashion,  seconded  by  fancy,  holds  such  an  universal  sway,  and 
while  so  much  is  consumed  in  useless  expenditures. 

Here  follows  Mr.  Lee's  stirring,  effeaive,  but  restrained  appeal 
for  funds  to  promote  his  missionary  work  in  Oregon: 

I  cannot  describe  the  wretchedness  of  these  Indians.  They  are  poor 
and  miserable,  blind  and  naked.  But  I  have  a  firm  belief,  that  if  the 
missionary  operations  are  continued,  they  will  raise  the  poor  Indian 
to  the  enjoyment  of  the  religion  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.   The  same 


126   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

blood  which  has  washed  away  our  stains,  will  also  wash  away  his 
stains.  The  same  gospel  which  has  raised  us  to  sit  in  heavenly  places 
in  Christ  Jesus,  will  also  raise  him  to  the  same  enjoyment;  and  bring 
both  ultimately,  to  ascribe  in  the  courts  of  heavenly  bliss,  glory  to 
God  and  the  Lamb,  forever  and  ever! 

Let  no  Christian  think  his  work  is  done,  till  the  world  is  converted. 
I  have  no  fears  but  the  world  will  be  converted,  but  at  the  present  rate 
of  carrying  on  our  operations,  we  must  look  far  down  the  vista  of  time, 
before  we  can  calculate  upon  this  glorious  consummation. 

The  excuses  which  are  sometimes  made  by  those  who  are  urged  to 
go  as  missionaries,  are  enough  to  shame  a  man.  Men  can  go  for  paltry 
gain  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  and  not  half  the  excuses  are  made. 

When,  O  when  shall  we  see  the  work  of  evangelizing  the  world 
accomplished.?  May  God  Almighty  give  us  grace  and  strength  to  per- 
form our  duty  in  relation  to  it.*^ 

On  the  Monday  evening,  January  28,  following  his  Boston  lec- 
ture, Jason  Lee  filled  an  appointment  in  the  faaory  city  of  Lowell, 
Massachusetts.  Here  he  experienced  unfavorable  weather  condi- 
tions. During  the  afternoon  and  evening  "a  large  quantity  of  snow 
fell.  .  .  .  The  wind  blew  hard,  and  the  weather  was  severely 
cold."  Despite  these  climatic  handicaps,  however,  he  addressed  a 
large  audience  in  the  spacious  Wesley  Chapel  on  Suffolk  Street.  ^° 

Proceeding  northward  by  winter  stage,  Jason  Lee,  with  his 
usual  promptitude,  was  on  hand  to  meet  his  engagement  at  New- 
buryport,  Massachusetts,  on  February  1,  1839.  A  pleasant  inci- 
dent associated  with  this  meeting  was  Lee's  visit  with  the  Rev. 
Jefferson  Hascall,  a  former  Wilbraham  Academy  classmate,  and 
the  Newburyport  Methodist  pastor.*" 

Two  successful  meetings  at  Portland,  Maine,  were  held  on 
February  3  and  4,  the  second  resulting  in  an  Oregon  Mission  col- 
leaion  of  about  two  hundred  dollars.  The  report  of  the  meeting 
states:  *'It  was  advertised  that  the  people  would  be  admitted  by 

^^  Zion's  Herald,  February  6,  1839,  X,  p.  22. 
^^  Ibid.,  February  20,  1839,  X,  p.  30. 
*°  Ibid.,  March  13,  1839,  X,  p.  42. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     127 

tickets  but  this  was  dispensed  with.  .  .  .  The  house  was  filled  to 
the  utmost,  and  a  hundred  went  away  who  could  not  gain  admit- 
tance." An  incident  conneaed  with  the  Portland  meeting  is 
illustrative  of  the  fact  that  Jason  Lee's  stirring  appeals  reached 
a  public  beyond  the  bounds  of  his  own  denomination: 

On  the  following  evening  [states  the  same  account}  Brother  Lee 
met,  by  invitation  of  Congregational  Churches,  at  their  Monthly  Con- 
cert. He  addressed  the  meeting  at  length,  and  William  Brooks  gave  a 
short  address.  A  collection  was  taken,  which  is  to  be  equally  divided 
between  the  Methodist  and  Congregational  Missions  in  Oregon.*^ 

New  Hampshire.  A  visit  to  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire, 
brought  to  a  close  one  of  the  really  successful  tours  in  Methodist 
missionary  history.  This  lecture,  although  not  on  Lee's  list  of  an- 
nounced lecture  engagements,  was  well  attended,  and  received  an 
enthusiastic  report  in  Zion's  Herald.  The  collection  amounted 
to  $63/' 

At  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  Lee  tarried  for  a  day  to  send  a 
report  of  his  New  England  tour  to  his  Mission  Board.  Although 
modest  and  matter-of-fact  in  tone,  it  is  a  skillful  summary  of  his 
truly  strenuous  fund-raising  campaign.  Lee  wrote: 

Such  is  the  rapidity  with  which  I  move  through  the  country  that  it 
is  not  possible  for  me  to  give  a  particular  account  of  all  the  meetings 
I  attend;  nor,  indeed,  is  it  necessary,  as  the  resident  preachers  can  do 
this  at  their  leisure  whenever  they  think  them  of  sufficient  interest  to 
be  worth  giving  to  the  public.  I  am  not  able  to  give  the  exaa  amount 
given  and  pledged  to  the  missionary  cause,  during  that  four  weeks' 
tour,  at  the  meetings  I  attended,  for  I  was  sometimes  obliged  to  leave 
before  the  amount  was  ascertained;  but  should  judge  that  it  was  not 
less  than  three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 

This,  perhaps,  all  circumstances  considered,  is  as  much  as  we  could 
reasonably  expect;  for  I  find  we  must  take  the  world  as  it  is,  and  not 
as  it  should  be. 

*^  Zion's  Herald,  February  20,  1839,  X,  p.  30. 


128    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

It  is  now  twenty-three  days  since  I  left  New- York,  during  which 
time  I  have  held  twenty  missionary  meetings,  and  have  received  cash 
as  follows: — 

Middletown,  Ct.,  1.50;  Norwich,  Ct.,  5.00;  West  Thomson,  Ct., 
24.00;— Total  $29.00. 

Walpole,  Mass.,  23.50;  Lynn,  Mass.,  100.00.— Total  $123.50.  From 
sabbath  school  at  Lynn,  to  sabbath  school  in  Oregon,  $22.00;  not  to 
be  paid  to  F.[oreign]  M.[ission]  Sec.[retary]. 

The  whole  amount  received  and  pledged  at  these  twenty  meetings, 
is,  I  think,  twenty-five  hundred  dollars. 

After  entering  New-England  I  was  mentioning  what  had  been  done 
in  the  south,  during  my  tour,  and  was  told,  in  reply,  that  I  had  been 
over  the  "garden,"  and  that  "the  cold  calculating  Yankees  were  not 
going  to  give  much  for  the  missionary  cause."  In  a  few  instances  I 
have  found  them  ''cold/'  indeed,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  amount 
given;  but,  in  most  places,  they  have  exhibited  a  good  degree  of 
warmth  in  this  cause,  and  there  are  cheering  indications  that  New- 
England  is  wakening  up  to  this  subjea,  and  that  she  is  beginning  to 
''calculate"  to  do  something  in  this  holy  and  noble  work,  worthy  of 
the  sons  of  the  pilgrim  fathers. 

I  have  little  success  in  finding  men  for  Oregon  that  answer  the  de- 
scription, or  come  within  the  classes  prescribed.  John  Watson,  of 
Amber,  Onondaigua  Co.  [Onondaga  County,  New  York},  has  written 
to  me  offering  himself  for  Oregon.  He  has  been  a  travelling  preacher 
eight  years,  but  he  is  not  a  "physician." 

To-morrow  I  leave  for  the  north,  and  in  a  few  days  expect  to  be  in 
Canada,  where  I  shall  tarry  say  three  weeks,  more  or  less,  and  then 
return  by  the  Hudson  River  route  to  New- York.  I  think  of  nothing 
more  that  I  need  say  at  this  time. 

Praying  that  the  best  of  Heaven's  blessing  may  rest  upon  you  and 
the  whole  Israel  of  God,  I  am,  dear  sir,  yours  truly,** 

Jason  Lee. 

Tour  of  the  North.  On  the  day  following  his  report  to  his 
Mission  Board,  Jason  Lee  was  on  his  way  to  Stanstead,  his  Canadian 
village  home  and  birthplace,  which  he  had  not  seen  for  nearly  six 

**  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  March  8,  1839,  XIII,  p.  113. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     129 

years.  Traveling  rapidly  by  winter  stage,**  he  soon  reached  Haver- 
hill, where  he  was  invited  to  deliver  his  missionary  address  on 
Oregon  before  the  congregations  of  both  the  Methodist  and  Con- 
gregational churches.  About  |50  was  subscribed  by  an  appreciative 
audience. 

The  Minutes  of  the  New  Hampshire  Annual  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  the  year  1839  contain  this  terse 
bit  of  testimony  to  Lee's  success  at  Haverhill: 

Haverhill  and  East  Haverhill,  $28.00,  forwarded  by  Rev.  J.  Lee. 
$40.00  to  make  Rev.  Silas  Quimby  and  Rev.  A.  Fleming  life  members 
of  the  Parent  Society,  $57.60. 

Visits  Academy  classm<ate,  Baker.  Although  not  on  a  formal 
lecture  schedule,  Lee's  days  were  filled  with  speaking  engagements. 
On  Monday,  February  11,  he  was  at  the  neighboring  Vermont 
town  of  Newbury,  home  of  the  famous  Newbury  Seminary,  a 
young  and  flourishing  Methodist  school.  Newbury,  moreover, 
possessed  a  special  attraaion  for  him.  It  was  the  home  of  his 
closest  personal  friend  and  former  Wilbraham  Academy  classmate, 
Osmon  C.  Baker,  a  future  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Church.  It  is 
doubtful  if  in  all  of  the  numerous  towns  and  cities  visited  by  Lee 
during  his  five  Eastern  tours,  he  was  more  cordially  received  by 
any  host  than  by  his  lifelong  friend.  Baker.  *** 

This  item  from  the  New  Hampshire  Conference  Minutes  refleas 
the  effectiveness  of  Lee's  work  at  Newbury: 

Newbury  Seminary,  Dorcas  Society,  goods  for  Oregon  Mission, 
$13.50.*' 

Lucy  Thomson.  In  a  manner  undreamed  of  by  him,  Lee's  New- 
bury visit  was  destined  to  prove  a  "white  milestone"  in  that  mis- 

**  "In  1814  a  line  of  stages  began  to  run  from  Haverhill  to  Concord,  which 
kept  up  till  the  railroad  was  opened  in  1848."  Frederic  P.  Wells,  History  of 
Newbury,  Vermont  (St.  Johnsburg,  Vermont,  1900),  p.' 292. 

*^  Horace  W.  Bailey,  Newbury  Seminary  Souvenir  (Newbury,  Vermont, 
1901),  p.  45. 

*'  Minutes  of  the  New  Hampshire  Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  for  the  year  1839. 


130   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

sionary's  brief  but  crowded  career.  In  the  long  visit  between  Lee 
and  his  Wilbraham  classmate,  Mr.  Baker  referred  to  Lucy  Thom- 
son, one  of  his  favorite  students,  who  had  delivered  the  valedic- 
tory address  on  the  preceding  November  22.  Lucy  Thomson,  of 
"Barre  Lower  Village,"  had  enrolled  in  the  newly  founded  semi- 
nary in  1837.  Twenty-eight  years  of  age,  and  intelleaually 
superior,  she  possessed  a  refined,  spiritual  nature,  and  was  deeply 
interested  in  missionary  work.  Mr.  Baker  spoke  in  terms  of  un- 
reserved praise  of  the  young  woman  and  showed  Mr.  Lee  a  copy 
of  her  valediaory  address  with  its  eulogy  on  missions  and  spiritual 
values.  Lee's  reaaions  are  described  by  his  future  son-in-law 
Francis  H.  Grubbs,  who  no  doubt  received  the  information  direa 
from  Mr.  Baker.  Mr.  Grubbs'  report  of  the  incident  reads: 

Having  traversed  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Northern  States  of 
the  Union,  and  visited  their  principal  cities  in  the  interest  of  the  mis- 
sion, the  ship  Lausanne  being  chartered  and  the  "Great  Reinforcement" 
ready  to  embark  at  the  city  of  New  York,  Jason  Lee  sought  a  brief 
space  for  rest  amid  the  scenes  of  his  early  life.  Osmon  C.  Baker,  his 
college  mate  and  warmest  friend  was  now  principal  of  Newbury  Sem- 
inary, Vermont.  What  was  more  natural  than  that  he  should  turn 
aside  for  a  few  days  of  communion  and  fellowship?  What  more  provi- 
dential than  that  there  he  should  then  be  attraaed  by  the  record,  and 
inspired  by  the  lofty  sentiments  breathed  in  a  valedictory  address 
delivered  the  previous  year  by  a  young  lady  graduate.^ 

What  more  pleasing  to  his  bosom  friend  and  early  companion  than 
to  declare  the  excellency  and  wimess  to  the  loveliness  of  the  author? 

Charmed  by  the  recital,  Jason  Lee  exclaimed,  "I  must  know  that 
lady!"  So  he  hied  him  away  to  Barre,  her  home;  met,  loved,  wooed 
and  won  Lucy  Thomson.*^ 

The  pleasant  scenes  at  Newbury  did  not,  however,  detain  for 
long  the  energetic  Oregon  missionary.  Bidding  farewell  to  this 
historic  town  with  its  seminary,  its  bustling  inns  and  taverns,  and 
its  stage-line  stations  past  which  flowed  a  constant  stream  of  travel 
from  New  York  and  Boston  through  this  "north  country"  onward 

*'^  Francis  H.  Grubbs  (comp),  Memorial  Souvenir  [o/]  Jason  Lee,  p.  70. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     131 

to  Quebec/^  he  pushed  on  toward  his  Canadian  home.  First,  how- 
ever, he  made  a  side  trip  to  Chelsea,  a  town  lying  a  few  miles  to 
the  westward  of  Newbury.  Here  he  found  in  session  a  Preachers' 
Meeting  of  the  Montpelier,  Vermont,  Distria.  This  unexpected 
call  upon  the  assembled  ministers  and  the  favorable  impression  he 
made  upon  them  is  described  in  homely,  newsy  fashion  by  one  of 
the  attending  preachers. 

As  you  recollect  [wrote  the  reporter},  our  Preachers'  Meeting  com- 
menced February  12;  most  of  the  travelling  preachers  upon  the  Dis- 
tria, and  a  number  of  the  local,  were  present.  They  all  possessed  a 
large  share  of  that  spirit  of  which  every  true  minister  of  the  gospel 
partakes.  At  10  o'clock  on  the  above  named  day,  our  3d  quarterly 
Meeting  commenced  with  a  Love-feast.  After  we  had  assembled  for  a 
time,  and  most  of  the  brethren  had  spoken  of  the  love  of  God  to 
them  and  as  we  were  pausing  a  moment  for  others  to  participate  in 
the  joys  of  the  occasion,  the  door  of  the  vestry  was  slowly  and  softly 
opened  by  the  hand  of  a  stranger,  clad  in  modest  apparel,  whose  frosty 
locks,  and  somewhat  furrowed  visage,  gave  clearest  proof  of  many  cares 
and  the  severest  of  toil.  He  shook  hands  with  our  P [residing]  Elder, 
who  was  somewhat  surprised  that  a  stranger  should  accost  him,  under 
circumstances  like  the  present,  but  oh,  how  astonished  to  find  in  him 
a  former,  but  now  unheeded  friend  and  brother  in  the  gospel.  Br. 
Scott  then  introduced  him  to  the  gazing  and  eager  throng.  Of  him, 
indeed,  they  had  read  and  heard  much,  and  he  held  a  prominent  place 
in  their  affections.  But  how  little  did  they  think,  until  his  name  was 
called,  that  this  was  Br.  Jason  Lee.  Never  could  he  have  made  his 
appearance  upon  this  Distria  more  opportunely.  .  .  . 

In  the  evening  of  that  day  Br.  Lee  and  William  addressed  us,  as  I 
suppose,  much  in  their  usual  style.  The  whole  was  interesting  and 
profitable.  We  raised  at  this  meeting,  among  the  friends  in  this  town, 
about  ninety  dollars,  not  so  much  as  we  could  have  wished,  but  as 
they  never  had  such  a  meeting  in  this  place  before,  and  as  the  Dorcases 
had  previously  formed  a  Society,  and  raised  nearly  forty  dollars  for 
the  Oregon  mission,  we  think  it  was,  to  say  the  least,  respeaable.*® 

*^  Frederic  P.  Wells,  History  of  Newbury,  Vermont,  pp.  291,  295. 
*^  Zion's  Herald,  March  20,  1839,  X,  p.  A6. 


132    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Pursuing  his  journey  homeward  by  a  route  that,  it  is  quite  likely, 
lay  through  the  neighboring  city  of  Barre,  and  on  northward 
through  the  capital  city  of  Montpelier,  Lee  was  at  last  on  his  way 
to  Stanstead.  He  stopped  at  Lyndon,  a  northern  Vermont  village 
with  a  population  of  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-two,  ^°  which  lay 
direaly  on  the  stage  route  of  his  journey  home.  This  village  re- 
sponded to  Lee's  appeal  by  donating  the  large  sum  of  eighty 
dollars. 

The  New  Hampshire  Conference  Minutes  add  this  supple- 
mentary touch  to  the  above  report: 

Lyndon  by  Rev.  J.  Templeton,  forwarded  by  Rev.  J.  Lee,  $73.00." 

Lee  reached  Stanstead  about  mid-February,  1839. 

Lee's  Canadian  visit.  His  return  to  his  native  village,  his  visits 
among  his  numerous  kindred,  his  activities  on  behalf  of  the  Oregon 
Mission,  the  enterprise  he  always  "wore  next  to  his  heart,"  are 
either  not  recorded  at  all  or  are  set  down  with  disappointing 
brevity: 

The  following  donations  were  mostly  from  personal  friends  in 
Lower  Canada,  for  the  Oregon  Mission:  Samuel  Brooks,  Esq.  Sher- 
brooke,  L[ower]  C[anada},  $20.00;  Mrs.  Ware,  Compton,  L.  C, 
$2.00;  Hazel  Hazeltine,  [blacksmith  and  early  settler}  Hatley,  L.  C, 
$2.00;  Jonathan  L.  Pool  [son  of  Theodore  C.  Pool,  brother-in-law  of 
Jason  Lee]  Hadey,  L.  C,  $5.00;  Lucy  Curtis,  Stanstead,  L.  C,  $5.00; 
Louisa  D.  Morrill  [twenty-nine  year  old  step-daughter  of  Jonathan  Lee, 
a  deceased  brother  of  Jason  Lee]  $5.00;  Mary  A[nn}  Curtis  [daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  Curtis,  Stanstead  pioneer  resident},  do. [nation},  $2.00; 
sundry  other  persons,  $5.30.''^ 

Lee's  second  reference  to  his  Canadian  visit  or  his  "tour  to  the 
north,"  as  he  called  it,  is: 

In  my  last  tour  to  the  north  I  received  the  following  sums  for  the 

°°  Edward  Conant,  Vermont  (Rutland,  Vermont,  1905),  p.  105. 
"  ^  Minutes  of  the  New  Hampshire  Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  for  the  year  1839. 

"  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  April  12,  1839,  XIII,  p.  136. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     133 

Oregon  mission;  .  .  .  collection  at  Stanstead  [doubtless  at  the  Wes- 
leyan  Brick  Church  on  Stanstead  Plain,  erected  in  1829-1830  ^^  by  the 
resident  pastor,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Turner},  $16.25;  donation  by  E 
Lee,  $5.00."* 

Early  in  the  second  week  of  March,  1839,  Jason  Lee  bade  fare- 
well to  his  numerous  kindred  and  friends  in  Stanstead  and  vicinity. 
Directing  his  journey  toward  Montpelier,  he  stopped  at  Craftsbury, 
a  northern  village  of  eleven  hundred  and  fifty-one  ^^  persons. 
The  meager  reference  to  this  meeting  reads:  ".  .  .  from  Crafts- 
bury,  Miss.  Soc.  by  G.  F.  Wells  [to  Lee  to  forward  to  Missionary 
Society}  $4.00." 

The  New  Hampshire  Minutes  furnish  this  additional  item: 
"Craftsbury,  forwarded  by  Rev.  J.  Lee,  $23.00."  '^ 

While  in  this  vicinity  Lee  made  a  side  trip  to  Burlington,  seat 
of  Vermont's  state  university.  His  brief  reference  reads:  "Mis- 
sionary meeting,  Burlington,  Vt.,  $40.92."  ^' 

The  unusually  large  contribution  of  over  $200  "in  money  and 
pledges  for  the  Oregon  Mission"  crowned  Lee's  visit  to  Danville. 

The  New  Hampshire  Minutes  contain  this  bald  summary  of 
what  was  really  an  impressively  large  colleaion:  ^^ 

Danville,  by  Rev.  S.  Kelly  $62.02  and  forwarded  by  Jason  Lee; 
$18.00  to  redeem  pledges  made  at  the  last  Conference;  $50.00  paid 
Domestic  Society  and  forwarded  by  Rev.  J.  Lee.*"® 

Vermont.  On  Sunday  evening,  March  17,  Lee  held  a  meeting 
in  Montpelier.  Among  the  persons  present  was  Lucy  Thomson. 
She  was  honored  with  an  eleaion  to  a  life  membership  of  the 
Parent  Missionary  Society.  The  well-written  report  of  this  meeting 
reads: 

°^  B.  F.  Hubbard  (comp.),  Forests  and  Clearings,  The  History  of  Stanstead 
County,  p.  86. 

***  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  October  4,  1839,  XIV,  p.  26. 

^^  Edward  Conant,  Vermont,  p.  110. 

^^  Minutes  of  the  New  Hampshire  Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  for  the  year  1839. 

^'  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  October  4,  1839,  XIV,  p.  26. 

''^  Zion's  Herald,  April  24,  1839. 

^^  Minutes  of  New  Hampshire.  .  .   .  Conference  for  1839. 


134   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

We  held  our  missionary  meeting  last  evening  in  the  first  Congre- 
gational Church,  it  being  the  largest  house  in  the  village.  Brothers 
Lee  and  William  were  present.  Our  meeting  was  highly  interesting. 
The  subscriptions  and  collections  amount  to  $154.00,  all  of  which  is  a 
freewill  offering.  I  send  you  $40.00  by  Brother  Lee,  the  remainder 
soon.  Of  the  sum  raised,  $140.00  are  to  constitute  the  following  per- 
sons life  members  of  our  Parent  Missionary  Society:  Hon.  J.  P.  Miller, 
of  Montpelier,  Vt.,  Rev.  Eleazer  Smith,  do.,  Mrs.  Laura  W.  Smith,  do., 
Mrs.  Smith,  wife  of  Rev.  B.  W.  Smith,  pastor  of  first  Congregational 
Church  in  MontpeHer,  Rev.  Elisha  J.  Scott,  P[residing}  E[lder]  of 
Montpelier  Distria,  William  Brooks,  the  Indian  youth,  Miss  Lucy 
Thompson  of  Barre. 

In  conclusion  I  would  just  say,  the  missionary  flame  burns  in  Ver- 
mont as  it  never  has  before.   Glory  to  God  in  the  highest.^" 

While  in  the  Montpelier  area,  Lee  again  pleaded  the  cause  of 
the  Oregon  Mission  at  Barre,  ancient  seat  of  Vermont  Methodism, 
which  boasted  a  meetinghouse  as  early  as  the  year  1800,^^  and  was 
also  the  home  of  his  future  wife,  Lucy  Thomson. 

The  only  known  report  of  this  meeting  is  the  laconic  item  in 
the  New  Hampshire  Conference  Minutes,  which  reads: 

Barre  by  Rev.  N.  W.  Aspinwall,  $10.00  to  redeem  a  pledge  of  his 
wife  Laura;  $27.00  forwarded  by  Rev.  J.  Lee  $56.53.°* 

Lee's  own  precise  report  of  the  amount  turned  over  to  him  at  the 
meeting  was  $27.03."' 

Vermont  to  New  York.  The  week  intervening  between  Sunday, 
March  17,  and  Sunday,  March  24,  found  the  dynamic  missionary 
breasting  his  way  over  the  muddy  Vermont  roads  southbound 
toward  Troy,  New  York.  The  large  Oregon  Mission  contributions 
received  along  his  southern  route  seem  to  furnish  evidence  that  Lee 
held  meetings  at  Rochester,  whose  donation  was  $106.88,  Wood- 
stock, and  Weston.    The  evidence  clearly  discloses  that  Lee  was 

•"  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  April  12,  1839,  p.  136. 
'^  "Walter  Rice  Davenport,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-five  Years  of  Method- 
ism (Barre,  Vermont,  1929),  p.  7. 

^^  Minutes  of  the  New  Hampshire  Conference  .    .    .  1839' 

^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  April  12,  1839,  XIII,  p.  136. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     135 

personally  present  at  Woodstock,  then  the  third  largest  city  of 
Vermont.  The  brief  record  of  this  event  reads: 

Woodstock,  $10.00  forwarded  by  Rev.  J.  Lee  $32.50. 

Lee  himself  also  included  Woodstock  among  his  list  of  appoint- 
ments and  designates  the  donation  placed  in  his  hands  there  as 
$10."*  The  unusual  gift  of  $36.70  made  by  Weston  would  point 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  missionary's  plea  for  Oregon  funds  was 
eifective  here  in  this  southern  Vermont  village  of  about  one  thou- 
sand souls. 

On  Saturday,  March  23,  Lee  left  behind  him  the  state  of  Ver- 
mont with  its  hospitable  memories  and  crossed  its  boundary  line 
into  the  state  of  New  York.  At  Troy,  on  Sunday,  March  24,  the 
collections  and  subscriptions  for  his  meeting  reached  the  surpris- 
ingly large  total  of  $454.  At  this  meeting  Mrs.  Marcus  Whitman, 
who  as  a  girl  had  attended  Miss  Willard's  Seminary  in  this  city, 
was  made  a  life  member  of  the  Oregon  Missionary  Society.  Mrs. 
Eliza  Spalding,  then  at  the  Lapwai  Mission  near  the  modern  Lewis- 
ton,  Idaho,  was  likewise  honored.  The  felicitously  worded  report 
of  this  meeting  reads: 

The  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  accompanied  by  a  Flathead  Indian  from 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  held  a  missionary  meeting  with  us  in 
the  State-street  church,  last  Sabbath  evening.  Though  the  notice  of 
their  arrival  in  our  city  was  but  brief,  yet  the  citizens  came  out  in 
multitudes.  Hundreds  went  away  for  want  of  room  in  the  church, 
which  was  literally  crammed,  among  whom  were  some  of  our  most 
respeaable  citizens  of  the  Presbyterian  and  Baptist  Churches.  They 
listened  to  our  missionary  with  the  profoundest  attention,  and 
responded  to  his  call  with  a  promptitude  which  did  them  honor. 
It  was  indeed  a  glorious  time.  We  seemed  to  feel  some  of  the  dawn- 
ings  of  the  latter  day's  glory,  while  all  hearts  appeared  to  thrill  with 
emotions  of  tenderness  and  sympathy  for  the  poor,  degraded,  and 
perishing  heathen,  a  proof  of  which  we  have  in  the  collection  and 
subscriptions  which  followed,  which  amounted  to  $454.   The  sum  of 

"*  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  April  12,  1839,  XIII,  p.  136. 


136   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

$96.95  I  now  remit  to  you;  the  remainder  will  be  forthcoming  as 
soon  as  colleaed. 

The  following  persons,  fourteen  in  number,  were  constituted  life 
members  of  the  Oregon  Missionary  Society,  namely  Dr.  Avery  J. 
Skelton,  Mrs.  Gardner  Landon,  Mrs.  D.  Sacket,  Mrs.  D.  Rogers,  Miss 
Mary  Ann  Jackson,  Mr.  Noah  Clapp,  Mrs.  Martha  A.  Clapp,  Mrs.  J.  S. 
Hakes,  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  William  Brooks,  native,  Mrs.  l5r.  Whitman, 
Mrs.  Eliza  Spa[u]lding,  Mrs.  Eliza  Ann  Remington,  and  Rev.  S. 
Remington. 

A  missionary  meeting  was  also  held  in  the  North  Second-street 
church,  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  of  the  success  of  which  you 
will  doubtless  be  informed  by  the  Rev.  P.  C.  Oakley,  their  pastor. 
Though  their  notice  was  yet  shorter  than  ours,  I  learn  that  they  did 
well  for  the  good  cause.®  ^ 

A  rapid  downstream  voyage  in  one  of  the  steamers  that  plied 
the  Hudson  River  brought  Lee  safely  to  his  destination,  New 
York  City,  in  the  closing  days  of  March,  1839.  In  his  missionary 
campaign,  Lee  had  traveled  through  portions  of  nine  populous 
Eastern  states,  as  well  as  the  Distria  of  Columbia  and  Lower 
Canada. 

New  York  State.  Lee's  reputation  as  one  of  the  most  effeaive 
missionary  campaigners  of  his  time  was  well  established.  He 
was  now  requested  by  his  Mission  Board  to  make  a  final  tour  in 
New  York  State.  This  farewell  speaking  expedition  began  at  Al- 
bany on  April  21,  and  was  concluded  at  Scheneaady  on  May  12.®* 
During  this  period  Jason  Lee  spoke  to  crowded  congregations  and 
assemblages  and  successfully  kept,  without  a  single  omission,  each 
of  the  seventeen  formal  speaking  engagements  to  which  he  was 
assigned. 

Before  opening  his  formal  missionary  tour,  Lee  paused,  on  his 
northward  up-river  journey,  for  a  meeting  at  the  village  of  Pough- 
keepsie  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  The  matter-of-faa  report 
of  his  meetings  reads : 

We  have  collected  in  this  station  the  present  year,  for  the  cause  of 
missions,  $155,  five  of  which  was  paid  in  some  time  since.   Ten  was 

®^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  April  19,  1839,  XIII,  p.  137. 
^''Ibid.,  May  24,  1839,  XIII,  p.  160. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     137 

paid  to  Brother  J.  Lee  on  a  late  visit  to  us,  and  the  balance,  $140,  is 
enclosed. 

Lee's  Sunday  evening  address  at  Albany,  on  April  21,  is  de- 
scribed as  one  of  "the  most  clear,  honest,  and  powerful  appeals 
that  was  ever  made  to  a  religious  community."  "We  think,"  con- 
tinues this  report,  "that  our  beloved  brother  Lee  was  eminently 
successful  in  making  a  deep  and  favorable  impression  in  behalf 
of  the  missionary  cause  generally,  and  of  Oregon  in  particular." 
The  gift  to  the  Oregon  Mission  in  this  state  capital  of  thirty-three 
thousand  souls  reached  the  total  of  $170.15.  The  journalistic 
description  of  this  sabbath  evening  Oregon  service  of  almost  a 
century  ago  reads: 

Last  Sabbath  evening  a  missionary  meeting  was  held  for  the  Gar- 
rettson  station  in  this  city. 

Though  circumstances  appeared  to  militate  against  us  in  conse- 
quence of  one  of  the  most  disastrous  fires  which  has  ever  visited  our 
city,  which  broke  out  on  the  previous  evening,  and  by  which  the  best 
church  we  had  here  was  destroyed  {the  Wesley  Chapel)  yet  it  pleased 
the  good  Lord  greatly  to  favor  us  in  the  object  of  our  meeting,  in 
respect  to  numbers,  interest,  and  funds.  One  of  the  largest  congre- 
gations that  ever  crowded  into  our  spacious  church  listened  to  one 
of  the  most  clear,  honest,  and  powerful  appeals  that  was  ever  made  to 
a  religious  community.  We  think  our  beloved  brother  Lee  was  emi- 
nently successful  in  making  a  deep  and  favorable  impression  in  behalf 
of  the  missionary  cause  generally,  and  of  Oregon  in  particular. 

It  was  not  all  Indian  excitement  which  was  manifested  on  the 
occasion;  for  if  ever  a  congregation  of  professing  Christians  had  their 
duty  to  the  heathen  portrayed  before  them,  and  were  urged  to  the 
performance  of  that  duty  by  the  most  faithful  and  eloquent  appeals, 
and  the  most  interesting,  palpable,  and,  at  the  same  time,  startling 
faas,  it  was  acknowledged  and  felt  on  the  present  occasion. 

Not  only  has  a  renewed  impulse  been  here  given  to  the  missionary 
spirit,  but  the  liberality  of  the  friends  of  missions  greatly  augmented, 
as  the  doings  of  our  late  meeting  will  testify;  and  I  think  it  was 
owing  to  the  want  of  more  time  why  our  contributions  were  not 
larger,  though  if  our  friends  are  correct  it  is  the  most  liberal  sum 
taken  up  at  any  similar  meeting  in  this  charge;  a  kind  of  missionary 


138    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

taste  has  been  created,  which  I  hope  will  increase  until  the  Indian, 
and  the  negro,  and  the  rude  barbarian  shall  all  enjoy  the  benefits  of 
the  great  salvation. 

The  collection  taken  up  amounted  to  $73.65. 

The  following  persons  offered  their  names  as  life  members  and 
subscribers  to  the  Oregon  Missionary  Society,  viz: — Jonathan  P.  Couch, 
of  the  honorable  legislature,  $10;  Mrs.  Maria  Van  Valkenburgh,  $10; 
Rev.  EUas  Van  Derlip,  $10;  Mr.  Jacob  Hochstrasser,  $10;  Miss  Har- 
riet Newell  Martin,  $10;  Mr.  William  H.  Ross,  $5;  Mr.  Oliver  Scovil, 
$5. 

By  sundry  persons,  in  $1  subscriptions,  $35 ;  $30  of  which  sum  is 
to  constitute  Rev.  E.  D.  Allen,  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church,  a 
life  member  of  the  parent  society,  and  Rev.  J.  Pegg,  preacher  in 
charge,  a  life  member  of  the  Oregon  missionary  society. 

Contents  of  a  missionary  box,  presented  by  the  pupils  of  Miss 
Child's  selea  school,  $5.  Total,  $170.15.  Forwarded  by  this  communi- 
cation of  the  above  sum,  $125.15.  Balance  on  subscription  now  due, 
$45."' 

Lee  himself  wrote  a  brief  account  of  his  night  meeting  at  Utica, 
a  rising  little  city  which  had  been  quickened  into  new  life  since  the 
completion  of  the  Erie  Canal  in  1825.  Lee's  report  of  his  engage- 
ment here  appears  in  this  brief  note  which  was  published  in  the 
Christian  Advocate  over  a  month  after  the  event. 

New- York,  June  4,  1839. 
Dear  Brother,  At  a  Missionary  meeting  in  the  Dutch  Reformed 
church  in  Utica,*  there  was  received  in  collection  $17.75 ;  donations, 
B.  F.  Beard  $5,  Mr.  Ellis  $1,  Rev.  M.  Adams  $1;  amounting  to 
$24.75,  $10  of  which  I  have  acknowledged  to  the  Advocate,  and  I  now 
send  you  the  balance,  $14,75. 

Jason  Lee. 
*In  my  letter  published  in  the  Advocate  No.  6S6,  4th  page,  the 
printer  has  omitted  the  sign  for  dollars  in  the  moneys  received  at 
Utica.    It  should  read  thus:  Utica  $32;  $22  of  which  was  pledged 
when  I  was  there  before. 

J.  L. " 

"  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  May  24,  1839,  XIII,  p.  160. 
•»  Ibid.,  June  14,  1839,  XIII,  p.  170. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     139 

The  closing  week  of  April  witnessed  Lee's  passage  through 
the  attraaive  lake  region  of  west  central  New  York.  This  veritable 
"earthly  paradise"  of  green  countrysides  and  picturesquely  named 
towns — Elmira,  Penn  Yan,  Geneva — poured  out  its  treasure  for 
Oregon.  Rapid  stage  rides,  often  made  at  night,  brought  the  lec- 
turer from  Gourtlandville  south  to  Ithaca,  later  the  seat  of  Cornell 
University,  but  then  a  slumbering  village  at  the  head  of  Lake 
Cayuga.  For  several  days  in  late  April  and  early  May,  Lee  was  but 
a  few  miles  distant  from  Allegheny  County,  then  the  home  of  the 
parents  of  Mrs.  Marcus  Whitman.  These  "honored  parents,"  as 
the  distant  daughter  from  her  far-oif  Waiilatpu  mission  house  in 
Old  Oregon  had  frequently  addressed  them,  were  the  possessors  of 
a  cordial  letter  of  introduaion  to  Mr.  Lee.*"*  Yet  the  Methodist 
missionary's  exaaing  schedule  prevented  his  receiving  the  welcome 
which  awaited  him.  On  May  2,  Lee  reached  Buffalo,  his  farthest 
western  New  York  State  meeting. 

On  his  return  journey,  a  rapid  series  of  engagements  along  the 
general  course  of  the  Erie  Canal  brought  the  weary  lecturer  to  his 
last  appointment  at  Schenectady  on  Sunday  evening,  May  12.  Here 
he  addressed  a  congregation  in  the  Scheneaady  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  which  "j511ed  the  house  to  overflowing."  A  cash  col- 
leaion  and  gifts  amounting  to  $88.29  crowned  with  success  the 
last  of  Jason  Lee's  five  memorable  lecture  tours  in  which  Oregon 
was  the  ever-recurring  theme.  Enlivening  the  interest  was  the 
presence  of  the  two  flat-headed  Indian  boys,  William  Brooks,  Lee's 
regular  traveling  companion,  and  Thomas  Adams,  who  now  re- 
joined Lee  after  an  illness  of  over  six  months  at  Peoria,  Illinois. 
William  Brooks,  because  of  serious  illness,  was  able  to  speak  at 
this  meeting  for  only  a  few  minutes.'" 

"  °  Letter  of  Narcissa  Whitman  to  her  parents  in  Transactions  of  the  Oregon 
Pioneer  Association  for  1891,  p.  105. 

'"From  the  Philadelphia  North  American  of  Wednesday  (June  5,  1839). 

"DIED.  On  Wednesday  morning,  the  29th  inst.  of  May,  1839,  after  a 
short  illness,  William  Brooks.  The  deceased  came  with  the  Rev.  Jason  Lee  to 
this  city  from  the  Oregon  Territory,  some  months  since,  and  has  traveled  with 
him  in  his  visits  to  various  places  since  his  arrival,  and  spoken  at  missionary 
meetings  with  great  effea.    He  was  an  estimable  youth,  beloved  by  all  who 


140   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

At  Lee's  farewell  meeting  in  his  New  York  State  tour,  the  col- 
lection taken  up  and  the  donations  made  to  aid  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions amounted  to  $88.29,  which,  with  the  exception  of  three 
dollars,  was  paid  in  and  "handed  over  to  brother  Lee." 

Ten  dollars  of  the  above  was  given  by  brother  Chs.  Lane,  of  Lima, 
N.  Y.,  to  constitute  himself  a  life  member  of  the  Oregon  Missionary 
Society,  and  should  be  credited  to  the  Lima  station.  Ten  dollars  was 
a  donation  from  Rev.  John  Nott,  to  constitute  Miss  Maria  N.  Potter 
a  life  member  of  the  Oregon  Missionary  Society,  and  thirty  dollars  was 
raised  to  make  Rev.  E.  Goss  a  life  member  of  the  Parent  Society,  and 
Mrs.  Eliza  B.  Goss  a  life  member  of  the  Oregon  Missionary  Society. '^^ 

Lee's  own  summary  of  his  New  York  tour  is  a  revealing  docu- 
ment. On  May  16,  three  days  after  his  return  to  New  York  City, 
he  wrote: 

Messrs.  Editors, 

The  appointments  made  through  your  columns,  a  few  weeks  since, 
for  me,  have  been  duly  met;  and  I  will  now  acknowledge  the  amount 
of  money  received  on  that  tour.  It  will  be  proper  to  remark  here, 
that  in  some  places  I  took  none  of  the  money  colleaed,  but  left  it 
with  the  preachers  to  arrange  that  business,  and  in  others  I  only  took 
a  little  for  expenses,  so  that  the  receipts  bear  no  proportion  to  the 
amount  collected  and  pledged.  They  are  as  follows: — ^Poughkeepsie 
|10;  Utica  $32.22,  $22  of  which  were  pledged  when  I  was  there 
before;  Cazenovia  6;  Courtland  18;  Ithaca  88.60;  Elmira  54.56; 
Geneva  51.88;  Buffalo  28.77;  Lockport  35.37;  Lyons  64.61;  Roches- 
ter 48.37;  ear  nubs  75  as,;  Seneca  Falls  28;  Auburn  51;  Syracuse 
126.71;  Schenactada  85.64;  ten  of  which  were  from  Brother  Lane  of 

were  acquainted  with  him.  But  the  best  of  all  is,  he  died  an  experienced 
Christian.  If  brother  Lee  receives,  in  this  life,  no  other  reward  for  his  labors 
and  sufferings  in  that  distant  territory,  the  conversion  of  this  youth  is  suffi- 
cient. One  native  Indian,  at  least,  of  Oregon,  is  saved,  as  the  fruit  of  mission- 
ary labor. 

"The  corpse  was  taken  to  the  Greene-st.  church  on  Thursday,  and  an 
address  delivered  on  the  occasion  by  Rev.  Dr.  Bangs,  The  Rev.  Brother  Lee 
preached  a  funeral  sermon  on  the  subjea  of  his  death  on  Sunday  last,  in 
the  same  church.  Some  further  particulars  in  the  life  and  death  of  William 
will  be  given  in  our  next." 

'^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  May  24,  1839,  XIII,  p.  160. 


LEE  PRESENTS  CLAIMS  OF  OREGON  MISSION     141 

Lima,  and  to  be  credited  to  that  station;  donation  of  brother  King 
5;  George  Geddes,  Esq.,  of  Camillus,  by  D.  H.  Kingsly  5.  Total 
received  $740.20,  which  is  probably  considerably  less  than  one  third 
of  the  whole  amount  pledged  during  that  tour. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  it  was  upon  the  country  through  which 
I  travelled,  that  Dr.  White  made  such  a  loud  call,  and  I  am  happy  to 
say  the  prospect  is,  that  that  call  will  be  nobly  met.  And  besides,  most 
of  these  stations  have  missionary  societies,  which  will  be  able  to 
report  a  good  round  sum  at  the  close  of  the  conference  year. 

A  great  portion  of  the  country  through  which  we  passed  is  most 
delightful,  and  produces  most  luxuriant  crops.  The  farmers  are 
becoming  rich.  I  would  to  God  that  each  would  lay  by  in  store, 
according  as  God  blesses  him,  for  the  purpose  of  sending  the  gospel 
to  enlighten  others,  that  they  may  appreciate  and  labor  for  the  bless- 
ings of  civilization,  and,  above  all,  the  durable  riches  and  righteous- 
ness that  fadeth  not  away.  My  labors  on  this  tour  were  excessive; 
travelling  long  distances  and  addressing  large  audiences  nearly  every 
day;  beside  that  which  cometh  upon  me  daily,  the  answering  a  thou- 
sand questions;  the  answers  to  most  of  which  have  been  published 
from  time  to  time  in  your  excellent  journal ;  I  mean  such  as  are  either 
worth  asking  or  answering.  Three  nights  I  did  not  go  to  bed  at  all, 
having  to  travel  in  order  to  meet  my  appointments;  but,  by  the  bless- 
ing and  kindness  of  God,  I  am  now  enjoying  my  usual  health.  I  will 
just  add  for  the  information  of  friends,  (and  I  hope  they  will  remem- 
ber it  two  hours,)  that  we  expea  to  sail  the  first  of  September — that 
we  hire  our  passage,  pay  tonnage  or  freight — seven  month's  voyage — 
touch  at  the  Sandwich  Islands — don't  know  when  I  shall  come  back — 
make  no  calculations  about  it — ^but  hope,  by  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
our  unceasing  eiforts,  to  make  a  country  fit  to  live  in,  and  fit  to  die  in; 
and  have  no  choice,  but  would  as  soon  lay  my  bones  in  that  country 
as  in  this.    Most  respectfully  yours, 

Jason  Lee. 
New- York,  May  16,  1839." 

^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  June  7,  1839,  XIII,  p.  168. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
AGAIN  EN  ROUTE  TO  OREGON 

After  Lee's  return  from  his  New  York  missionary  tour  on 
May  13,  he  faced  a  busy  summer  and  autumn.  Upon  his  Mission 
Board  and  himself  fell  the  arduous  task  of  chartering  and  out- 
fitting a  sailing  vessel  for  the  22,000-mile  voyage  to  Oregon.  An- 
other difficult  problem  was  the  seleaion  and  assembling  of  the 
missionaries  who  had  volunteered  to  reinforce  the  Oregon  Mission. 
Still  another  laborious  feature  was  the  assembling  and  labeling  of 
the  large  quantity  of  goods  and  equipment  to  be  shipped  to 
Oregon. 

'Lausanne"  chartered.  After  several  weeks  of  negotiation  with 
shipowners,  a  suitable  sailing  ship,  the  Lausanne,  was  finally  pro- 
cured. An  official  announcement  in  the  Advocate  describes  this 
event: 

The  ship  Lausanne,  chartered  by  the  Missionary  Society,  is  expeaed 
to  sail  from  New- York  for  the  Columbia  River  on  the  1st  of  Oaober. 
The  vessel  is  new,  of  the  first  class,  400  tons,  copper  fastened  and 
coppered,  with  spacious  state  rooms,  and  well  furnished  in  every  respect 
for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  passengers. 

Josiah  Spaulding,  an  old  and  respectable  captain,  who  has  made  nine 
voyages  to  the  East  Indies,  will  command  the  ship.  She  goes  out  a 
temperance  vessel  in  its  fullest  sense,  as  no  spiritous  liquors  for  freight 
or  use  will  be  admitted  on  board.  For  the  comfort  of  the  emigrating 
party,  in  so  long  a  voyage,  the  ship  will  touch  at  St.  Catherine's,  in 
Brazil,  Valparaiso,  in  Chili,  Oahu,  in  Sandwich  Islands,  and  thence 
depart  to  Oregon  Territory. 

By  order  of  the  Oregon  Com[mittee  of  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions]. 

G.  P.  DisoswAY,  Sec. 
New  York,  Sept.  16,  1839.' 

*  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  September  20,  1839,  XIV,  p.  19. 

142 


AGAIN  EN  ROUTE  TO  OREGON  143 

Missionary  reinforcements.  On  December  5,  1838,  about  one 
month  after  Jason  Lee's  arrival  in  the  East,  the  Board  of  Managers 
of  the  Missionary  Society  made  this  important  announcement 
through  Nathan  Bangs,  the  Corresponding  Secretary: 

Since  the  return  of  the  Rev.  Jason  Lee  from  Oregon,  the  board  of 
managers  have  had  various  consultations  with  him  respecting  the  pres- 
ent state  of  the  mission,  its  future  prospects,  and  the  means  necessary 
to  prosecute  it  with  vigor  and  success.  The  whole  subjea  was  referred 
to  a  committee,  who  had  several  interviews  with  Brother  Lee  and 
others,  and  finally  agreed  in  the  following  report,  which  was  submitted 
to  the  Board  on  the  5th  instant,  and  unanimously  concurred  in: — 

The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  proposed  reinforcement  of 
the  Oregon  mission,  after  mumal  consultation  with  Brother  Lee,  have 
agreed  to  recommend  that,  in  addition  to  those  at  present  connected 
with  the  mission,  measures  be  taken  to  increase  the  establishment  there 
by  sending  out  additional  help,  as  follows,  viz. : — 

Five  missionaries,  one  physician,  six  mechanics,  jour  farmers,  and 
one  missionary  steward,  with  their  wives,  making  32  adults,  who  shall 
be  connected  with  the  Oregon  mission,  under  the  superintendence  of 
the  Rev.  Jason  Lee.  It  is  recommended  that  educated  physicians  be 
seleaed  for  missionaries  as  far  as  possible,  and  that,  in  appointing  the 
mechanics,  as  many  with  their  wives  as  may  be  found  capable  as  school 
teachers  be  preferred. 

The  committee  also  agreed  to  make  the  following  additional  sug- 
gestions, viz.: — 

That  a  sawmill  be  authorized,  together  with  all  necessary  building 
materials,  tools,  and  implements.  That  goods,  to  be  selected  by  Brother 
Lee  to  the  amount  of  5000  dollars  be  sent  out.  That  the  selection  of 
the  laymen  to  be  sent,  be  referred  to  the  resident  corresponding  secre- 
tary and  Brother  Lee.  That  a  female  teacher  be  sent,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  children  of  the  missionaries,  her  salary  not  to  be  paid  by  the 
Board. 

That  all  persons  engaging  in  this  mission  shall  obligate  themselves 
to  remain  in  our  service  for  ten  years,  unless  sooner  released  by  the 
Board  or  the  Superintendent  of  the  mission. 

That  Brother  Lee  be  deputed  forthwith  to  visit  Boston,  and  open  a 
negotiation  with  John  N.  Barbour,  Esq.  in  relation  to  his  proposal  for 


144   JASON  LEE;  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

the  joint  ownership  of  a  vessel  for  passengers  and  freight,  and  that  he 
report  the  result  to  the  Board,  for  their  decision  in  the  premises. 

It  was  then  resolved,  that  the  corresponding  secretary  be  requested 
to  invite  Bishop  Hedding  to  meet  with  the  Board  at  his  earliest  con- 
venience, for  consultation  on  this  important  subject,  and  that  the  Board 
be  recommended  to  delay  any  final  action  on  the  subject  until  such 
interview  with  the  bishop  can  be  had. 

It  was  also  resolved  that  Brother  Lee  be  authorized  to  build  a  grist 
mill  at  the  Willamette  Falls  whenever  it  shall,  in  his  judgment,  be- 
come necessary  for  the  interests  of  the  mission. 

It  is  estimated  that  this  outfit,  including  a  half  year's  salary  and 
passage,  will  cost  not  less  than  $30,000.  This,  in  addition  to  the  other 
missions  we  are  now  pledged  to  support,  will  require  at  least  $130,000 
for  this  year,  $61,000  having  been  already  drawn  for  since  the  first 
of  May  last.  The  friends  of  the  cause,  therefore,  will  have  to  be  on  the 
alert  to  meet  this  demand  upon  the  liberality  of  the  church.  Past  ex- 
perience, however,  induces  the  firm  conviction  that  there  shall  be  no 
lack  of  means  to  carry  forward  this  holy  work.  But  a  united  and  perse- 
verm  g  effort  is  essential  to  success. 

Let  therefore,  the  discipline  be  carried  into  effect  in  every  circuit  and 
station,  by  preaching  a  missionary  sermon,  taking  up  colleaions,  and 
soliciting  donations  from  every  one  able  to  give,  and  the  work  shall 
be  done. 

To  aid  the  society  in  furnishing  the  funds  necessary  for  the  support 
of  its  missions.  Brother  Lee,  while  detained  in  the  United  States,  will 
devote  as  much  of  his  time  as  practicable  in  visiting  various  parts  of 
the  country,  with  a  view  to  hold  missionary  meetings,  and  take  up 
collections.  For  this  purpose  he  left  this  city  on  the  13th  inst.  for 
Washington  city,  where  he  will  spend  about  one  week. 

On  the  22nd  he  will  visit  Baltimore,  and  remain  there  until  the  31st. 

From  January  1st  to  7th,  1839,  he  is  expected  to  be  in  Philadelphia 
and  vicinity. 

On  the  evening  of  the  10th  he  has  an  appointment  in  Morris- 
town,  N.  J, 

On  the  evening  of  the  15th  in  New-Haven,  Conn. 

The  l6th  and  17th  he  will  spend  at  Middletown  [home  of  Dr.  Fisk 
and  seat  of  Wesleyan  University},  and  on  the  evening  of  the  18th  at 
Hartford,  and  the  Sabbath  following  in  Norwich,  Conn. 


AGAIN  EN  ROUTE  TO  OREGON  145 

On  the  evening  of  the  23rcl,  in  Providence,  R.  I. 

From  the  24th  to  31st  he  will  spend  in  Boston  and  its  Vicinity. 

The  evening  of  February  1st  he  will  hold  a  missionary  meeting  in 
Newburyport  [home  of  Caleb  Gushing},  and  on  the  evening  of  Febru- 
ary 3d  in  Portland,  Me. 

After  this  he  will  make  a  tour  to  the  north,  with  a  view  to  visit  his 
friends  in  Lower  Canada,  and  will  hold  meetings  in  as  many  places  as 
he  may  find  it  convenient  on  his  way,  of  the  times  and  places  for  which 
he  will  give  timely  notice  himself. 

In  respect  to  the  persons  wanted  to  make  up  the  mission  family,  we 
do  not  now  advertise  for  any  persons  to  make  application,  as  several 
names  are  already  on  our  reserve  list,  and  those  who  may  wish  to  vol- 
unteer their  services,  either  as  missionaries,  farmers,  or  mechanics, 
physician,  or  teacher,  can  make  known  their  views  and  feelings  to 
Brother  Lee,  when  he  may  visit  their  neighborhoods.  We  wish,  indeed, 
to  become  well  acquainted  with  the  persons  before  they  are  engaged, 
that  we  may,  as  far  as  possible,  guard  against  the  employment  of 
incompetent  or  improper  persons. 

It  may  be  well,  however,  to  remark  here,  that  none  will  be  accepted 
but  such  as  have  an  established  character  for  p^eiy,  are  members  of  our 
Church,  well  recommended  for  their  competency  in  the  department  of 
labor  for  which  they  may  be  engaged,  and  are  clear  of  debt.  The  Board 
having  passed  a  resolution  that  they  will  not  advance  money  to  pay  the 
debts  of  any  one  whom  they  may  employ  in  their  service. 

It  has  already  been  resolved  that  the  mission  family  must  be  sent 
by  water,  by  the  way  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  as  it  will  require 
considerable  time  to  select  suitable  persons,  procure  the  necessary  sup- 
plies, and  provide  a  convenient  passage,  the  probability  is  that  the 
expedition  will  not  leave  until  the  latter  part  of  next  summer  or 
autumn.^ 

During  the  late  spring,  Bishop  Elijah  Hedding,  Lansingville, 
New  York,  in  charge  of  the  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  seleaed  most  of  the  ministers  who  were  to  go  to  Oregon 
as  missionaries.  After  May  15,  Bishop  Beverly  Waugh,  Bishop 
Hedding  s  successor,  had  the  responsibility  for  the  later  appoint- 
ments. During  the  spring  and  summer  months  the  following  five 

^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journalj  "Decemhet  21,  1838,  XIII,  p.  70. 


146   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

ministers  were  seleaed:  Gustavus  Hines,  Herkimer  County,  New 
York;  William  W.  Kone,  Hillsboro,  North  Carolina;  Joseph  H. 
Frost,  Newburgh  Distria,  New  York;  Alvin  F.  Waller,  Elba, 
New  York;  and  John  P.  Richmond,  Jacksonville,  Illinois.' 

Lee  overruled.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  Lee  recommended 
only  two  ministers,  the  number  he  felt  was  sufficient  for  the 
Oregon  Mission.  He  was  overruled,  however,  by  his  Board  of 
Managers  and  Missionary  Bishop,  who,  under  the  spell  of  the 
missionary  enthusiasm  of  the  hour,  favored  the  larger  number. 
Had  Jason  Lee's  plans  been  approved,  a  chief  source  of  his  future 
difficulties  in  Oregon  would  have  been  obviated.  It  was  his  dis- 
satisfied ministerial  associates,  and  not  the  lay  helpers  seleaed 
mainly  by  himself,  that  introduced  dissension  into  the  Oregon 
Mission. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  Lee  stoutly  resisted  the  acceptance 
of  any  ministers  whose  wives  did  not  wish  to  go  to  Oregon.  Lee's 
position,  if  supported,  would  have  eliminated  from  the  lists  of 
applicants  some  ministerial  colleagues  who  later  were  to  cause 
both  the  mission  and  its  superintendent  almost  endless  trouble 
and  embarrassment. 

On  August  27,  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Ira  L.  Babcock  as  mis- 
sion physician  was  announced.  Dr.  Babcock  was  a  resident  of  the 
State  of  New  York  and  little  dreamed  of  the  aggressive  role  he  was 
to  play  in  the  political  life  of  the  distant  region  to  which  he  was 
assigned.* 

After  publishing  several  advertisements  in  the  Advocate  col- 
umns, four  mechanics  were  finally  announced.  They  were  Hamil- 
ton Campbell,  carpenter  and  joiner,  Springfield,  Illinois;  James 
Olley,  carpenter  and  joiner.  East  Troy,  New  York;  Lewis  H. 
Judson,  cabinetmaker,  Conneaicut;  and  Josiah  L.  Parrish,  black- 
smith, Onondaga  County,  New  York." 

In  the  personnel  of  the  mission  party,  as  finally  announced,  there 

'  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  March  to  September,  1839,  XIII,  passim. 
*  Jason  Lee  letter,  Zion's  Herald,  September  4,  1839,  X,  p.  142. 
"  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  August  30,  1839,  XIV,  p.  7. 


AGAIN  EN  ROUTE  TO  OREGON  147 

were  four  teachers,  instead  of  one  as  originally  planned:  Maria  T. 
Ware,  Lowell,  Massachusetts;  Chloe  Aurelia  Clark,  East  Windsor, 
Connecticut;  Elmira  Phillips,  Springfield,  Massachusetts;  and 
Almira  Phelps,  Springfield,  Massachusetts." 

Only  two — not  four — farmers  were  on  the  ofl&cial  passenger  list 
published  just  prior  to  the  sailing  of  the  Lausanne,  namely  Wil- 
liam W.  Raymond,  Balston  Spa,  New  York,  and  Henry  B.  Brewer, 
Wilbraham,  Massachusetts.  George  Abernethy,  New  York  City, 
was  seleaed  for  the  important  office  of  missionary  steward,  upon 
whom  would  devolve  the  duties  of  mission  bookkeeper  and  ac- 
countant. The  appointment  of  a  stewardess,  an  office  not  men- 
tioned in  the  earlier  announcement  of  plans,  completed  the  mis- 
sionary party.  For  this  position,  Miss  Orpha  Lankton,  Hartford, 
Conneaicut,  was  named.* 

Missionary  emphasis.  Contrary  to  the  impression  conveyed  by 
many  works  on  Oregon  and  American  history,  the  Lausanne  rein- 
forcement was  not  primarily  a  colonizing  enterprise,  but  distinctly 
a  missionary  expedition  in  charaaer  and  purpose.  This  fact  is 
evidenced  by  these  official  announcements  issued  by  Nathan  Bangs, 
the  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Missionary  Society,  during  the 
spring  and  summer  prior  to  the  departure  of  the  Lausanne: 

1.  We  want  five  missionaries;  and  we  should  prefer  men  of  small 
families,  and  such  as  have  a  knowledge  of  medicine,  that  they  may 
administer  to  the  physical  as  well  as  spiritual  wants  of  the  people. 

2.  They  must  be  well  recommended  by  three  elders,  their  presiding 
elder  being  one,  if  practicable,  for  their  fitness  for  such  a  mission  as 
to  health,  piety,  talents,  and  willingness  to  endure  hardships,  as  good 
soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ. 

3.  They  must  be  clear  of  debt,  as  the  board  have  determined  that  they 
will  not  be  responsible  for  the  debts  of  any  who  may  engage  in  their 
employ. 

4.  Those  who  may  offer  for  this  service  may  direct  their  letters  to 
Bishop  Hedding  until  the  15th  of  May,  to  my  care  200  Mulberry  street; 

*  Jason  Lee  letter,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  August  30,  1839,  XIV, 

P-  I' 

^  Farewell  Missionary  Meeting,  Zion's  Herald,  October  9,  1839,  X,  p.  163. 


148    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

and,  after  that,  to  Bishop  Waugh,  to  whom  the  care  of  the  foreign 
missions  will  then  belong.    All  letters  must  be  post  paid. 

It  is  expected  that  the  expedition  will  sail  from  the  port  of  New- 
York  some  time  in  September  next,  as  we  are  now  negotiating  with  a 
gentlem.in  in  this  cit)'  for  the  charter  of  a  ship  expressly  for  this 
purpose.* 

Those  who  apply  will  recollect  that  tliey  must  be  recommended  by 
the  preacher  in  cliarge  for  their  piet}'  iind  standing  as  members  of  the 
Church,  and  by  at  least  three  others  for  their  competency  in  that  par- 
ticular branch  of  mechanical  labor  in  which  they  propose  to  engage, 
signifying  also  their  willingness  to  devote  themselves  exclusively  to 
the  service  of  the  Missionary  Society  for  at  least  ten  years,  unless 
sooner  released  by  death  or  by  the  superintendent  of  the  mission. 

As  some  have  expressed  doubts  respeaing  the  propriet}^  of  sending 
so  many  mechanics  and  farmers  to  the  mission,  it  may  be  well  to  give 
the  following  reasons  for  this  me.isure: 

Let  it  be  recoUeaed,  then,  that  the  missionaries  who  go  to  Oregon 
are  entirely  dependent  upon  their  o\sti  labor  for  a  subsistence.  Hence, 
the  first  company  who  went  were  obliged  to  go  to  work  or  starve, 
build  diem  a  house,  and  cultivate  the  land.  This  they  did  themselves, 
witli  the  aid  they  procured  from  some  Indian  boys,  although  they  had 
to  teach  them  how  to  work.  The  missionaries  had  not  only  to  raise  their 
owTi  provision,  but  to  cook  and  wash  and  mend  their  own  clothes,  for 
there  were  no  civilized  settlements  from  which  they  could  obtain  the 
needful  aid. 

This  being  the  state  of  things  there,  it  has  been  considered  essential, 
for  the  successful  prosecution  of  this  mission,  to  have  it  supplied  with 
farmers  and  mechanics,  to  build  houses  and  to  cultivate  the  land,  that 
those  who  go  as  missionaries  may  devote  themselves  entirely  to  their 
spiritual  work. 

We  have  nothing  to  do  with  planting  a  colony  in  Oregon.  Our 
business  is  to  send  the  Gospel  to  those  who  may  be  there,  either  now 
or  hereafter,  whether  natives  or  otherwise.  If  others  see  fit  to  remove 
there,  well;  we  have  no  objections;  we  will  do  them  all  the  good  we 
can,  and  we  wish  them  all  manner  of  success  in  their  efforts  to  intro- 
duce a  wholesome  population  into  that  territory,  who  shall  set  an  ex- 
ample of  Christian  conduct  before  the  natives.    But  with  colonizing 

'  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  April  5,  1839,  XIII,  p.  130. 


AGAIN  EN  ROUTE  TO  OREGON  149 

companies  we  have  no  connection,  other  than  this,  if  they  arrive  there, 
and  will  allow  our  missionaries  to  preach  to  them,  we  hope  they  may 
receive  much  spiritual  benefit  from  the  friendly  intercourse. ° 

Hence  it  will  be  perceived  that  we  send  out  those  only  who  are  to 
be  helpers  to  the  cause  of  missions.  It  is  not  for  the  sake  of  cultivating 
the  land,  and  building  houses — only  so  far  as  these  things  are  necessary 
to  realize  the  primary  objea  of  the  enterprise,  which  is,  the  salvation 
of  the  souls  of  the  people  in  that  region. 

And  as  they  are  cut  off  from  civilized  society,  they  must  depend  upon 
their  own  exertions  for  a  livelihood,  as  they  cannot,  when  they  want 
bread  to  eat,  or  raiment  to  put  on,  go  to  a  neighboring  civilized  settle- 
ment and  purchase  these  things. 

In  this  way,  too,  though  the  necessary  outfit  will  cost  much,  the 
mission  will  soon  sustain  itself,  by  raising  those  articles  of  consumption 
which  are  needful  to  support  life,  and  to  carry  on  their  operations.  It 
is  hoped,  therefore,  that  the  friends  of  the  cause  will  not  be  deterred 
from  continuing  their  exertions  from  any  misconception  of  the  views 
and  objects  of  the  society  in  thus  procuring  a  reinforcement  and  supplies 
for  the  Oregon  mission.^® 

Burdensome  detail.  A  burdensome  feature  of  the  work  of  pre- 
paring for  the  long  voyage  was  the  assembling  and  labeling  of 
the  merchandise  and  freight  that  were  to  be  shipped.  These  con- 
sisted of  household  goods,  tools,  farming  implements,  machinery 
for  a  sawmill  and  grist  mill,  window  sashes,  and  a  large  quantity 
of  clothing  donated  for  the  Oregon  Indians. 

Jason  Lee  wrote  an  illuminating  letter  to  his  missionary  friends 
in  the  July  26  issue  of  the  Advocate.  It  suggests  the  nervous  haste 
and  rush  of  those  warm,  summer  days  at  the  New  York  City  Mis- 
sion House,  and  the  size  of  the  task  that  confronted  him.  He 
wrote: 

Those  friends  who  intend  to  forward  clothing  for  the  Oregon 
mission,  to  go  out  with  the  expedition  appointed  to  sail  the  I6th  of 
September,  will  please  observe  that  we  are  now  ready  for  their  recep- 

®  The  italics  are  the  author's. 

^°  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  New  York,  Friday,  April  5,  1839,  XIII, 
p.  130. 


150   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

tion.  All  who  have  their  donation  prepared  will  do  well  to  send  them 
without  delay;  for  it  is  important  for  us  to  know,  as  soon  as  possible, 
with  what  the  liberality  of  our  friends  will  furnish  us,  for  we  shall 
have  many  things  to  purchase,  if  they  are  not  sent  us ;  and  if  we  begin 
to  purchase  without  knowing  what  is  intended  to  be  given,  the  conse- 
quence will  be,  too  great  a  supply  of  some  things,  and  too  little  of 
others. 

N.  B.  That  if  our  good  friends,  in  addition  to  all  their  other  kind 
services  to  us,  and  the  poor  heathen,  will  comply  with  the  following 
request,  they  will  confer  a  special  favor,  save  more  trouble,  and  do 
more  to  subserve  the  cause  of  the  mission  than  they  could  do  in  any 
other  way  by  the  same  amount  of  labor. 

Let  me  say  that  while,  then,  I  tender  my  most  grateful  acknowl- 
edgements for  your  labor  of  love,  on  behalf  of  the  more  than  miserable 
red  man,  let  me  beg  of  you,  as  a  personal  favour  to  attend  to  the 
following  directions: 

Let  all  your  goods  be  put  up  in  good,  tight,  clean  barrels,  well  headed 
up,  with  the  name  of  the  place  from  which  it  comes,  and  Oregon  mis- 
sion on  the  head;  send  with  each  barrel,  not  in  it,  but  by  the  person 
who  conveys  it,  or  by  mail  to  Dr.  Bangs,  200  Mulberry-street,  New 
York,  a  regular  bill,  with  the  value  of  each  article,  if  it  is  worth  no 
more  than  six-pence.  Upon  each  article  pin  a  piece  of  paper  with  the 
price,  imless  there  are  several  of  the  same  kind.  These  may  be  put 
together  in  one  bundle,  and  labelled  thus,  for  instance:  6  boy's  shirts, 
50  as.  each,  $3,  and  so  of  other  things.  And  then  should  we  have 
occasion  to  exchange  some  of  these  things  for  provisions,  after  we 
arrive  in  Oregon,  we  may  at  once  know  the  value  of  them,  and  not  be 
left  to  guess  at  the  price  of  articles,  of  the  value  of  which  we  have  no 
knowledge.  All  will  acknowledge  that  this  must  occasion  great 
perplexity. 

Bro.  Frost  and  myself  have  just  opened  all  the  boxes  that  have 
arrived.  With  respea  to  some  of  them,  we  have  no  means  of  telling 
whence  they  came;  but  there  was  one  large  and  valuable  box  from 
Black  River  Conference,  one  from  Piatt  [e] kill,  N.  Y.,  and  one  from 
Wilmington,  Del.,  but  no  scrap  of  writing  in  the  two  former,  and  the 
bill  in  the  latter  only  named  the  articles,  and  the  aggregate  value  of 
the  whole.  How  easy  it  would  have  been  to  put  the  price  of  each  article 


AGAIN  EN  ROUTE  TO  OREGON  151 

upon  the  bill,  and  upon  the  articles,  as  above  directed;  and  then  there 
would  have  been  no  farther  trouble  about  it.  But  as  it  is,  we  have  now 
to  examine  each  article,  and  guess  at  its  value,  and  I  question,  after 
all,  whether  we  shall  arrive  at  any  thing  like  the  same  gross  amount 
that  is  in  the  bill.  Many  may  think  all  this  particularity  about  the 
price  unnecessary;  but  how  are  we  to  get  our  goods  insured,  if  we  do 
not  know  their  value? 

I  will  close  by  saying  that  whether  the  friends  comply  with  the 
above  request,  or  not,  I  shall  not  be  able  to  attend  to  pricing  and 
repacking  goods  in  the  future  without  neglecting  business  of  such  im- 
portance that  the  mission  will  suffer  for  years  in  consequence.  The 
friends  who  are  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston  can,  if  they  prefer,  direct  to 
D.  S.  King,  Boston,  and  he  will  forward  to  N.  York. 

Jason  Lee. 
Will  Zion's  Herald  please  copy  the  above.* ^ 

Early  September  witnessed  the  safe  arrival  of  the  missionaries 
at  New  York  City.  Since  mid-September  the  Lausanne,  a  new 
three-masted  sailing  ship,  lay  in  New  York  harbor,  ready  for  its 
seven  months'  voyage.  By  Oaober  1  the  large  quantity  of  house- 
hold goods,  merchandise,  and  equipment  was  securely  packed  in 
the  hold  of  the  vessel  and  the  spacious  staterooms  were  ready  for 
the  passengers. 

Married:  Lee-Thomson.  But  before  the  missionaries  launch 
forth  on  their  long  ocean  journey,  a  pleasant  event  in  the  life  of 
Jason  Lee  remains  to  be  told.  With  striking  conciseness,  the 
August  14,  1839,  issue  of  Zion's  Herald  tells  the  story.  The 
announcement  reads: 

Married 

At  Barre,  Vt.,  July  28th,  by  Rev.  E.  J.  Scott,  Presiding  Elder  of 
Montpelier  District,  REV.  JASON  LEE,  of  the  Oregon  Mission,  and 
Miss  LUCY  THOMPSON. 

The  marriage  ceremony,  as  kid  down  in  the  discipline,  was  per- 
formed in  the  Methodist  meeting  house,  and  a  sermon  delivered  on 

**  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  New  York,  Friday,  July  26,  1839,  XIII, 
p.  194. 


152    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

the  occasion  by  Rev.  T.  C.  PIERCE,  who  was  in  that  region  on  a  tour 
for  his  health/^ 

Miss  Thomson/'  whose  career  henceforth  is  linked  with  Old 
Oregon's  history,  was  born  at  ''Barre,  Lower  Village,"  Vermont, 
on  March  10,  1809.''*  She  was  the  fourth  child  of  Joseph  Thom- 
son and  Lois  Wilder/^  In  1837  she  enrolled  in  Newbury  Semi- 
nary, where  she  was  a  student  for  two  years,  and  the  valedictorian 
of  her  class  when  the  flourishing  little  seminary  numbered  three 
hundred  and  twenty-six  students.^ ° 

Before  sailing  on  the  Lausanne,  Miss  Thomson,  now  Mrs.  Lee, 
wrote  this  feeling  letter  to  her  brother  and  his  wife  who  were  resid- 
ing at  Barre,  Vermont.  Although  the  name  of  her  brother  is  not 
given,  it  was  no  doubt  her  brother  John,  at  whose  home  she 
resided  after  the  death  of  her  mother. 

My  dear  Brother  and  Sister: 

Never  did  I  feel  as  I  do  now  in  attempting  to  address  you,  for  never 
before  was  I  placed  in  similar  circumstances. 

^^  Zion's  Herald,  August  14,  1839,  X,  p.  131.  Other  references  of  interest 
bearing  on  this  event  are  the  following:  Horace  W.  Bailey,  A  Souvenir  of  the 
Seminary  Memorial  Window,  Newbury,  Vermont,  1901),  p.  45;  Zion's  Herald, 
March  6,  1839,  X,  p.  38;  F.  H.  Grubbs  (comp.),  Memorial  Souvenir  {of] 
Jason  Lee,  p.  70;  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  April  12,  1839,  XIII,  p.  136. 

^^  Mrs.  Victor,  writing  under  the  name  of  Bancroft,  wrote  concerning 
Lee's  arrival  in  Oiegon  with  Mrs.  Lucy  Thomson  Lee:  "Deeply  stirred  had 
been  the  sympathies  of  his  old  associates  as  they  thought  of  his  return  to  his 
desolate  home  [at  Old  Mssion  in  June,  1840;}  and  now  the  revulsion  of 
feeling  was  so  great  that  the  supremacy  of  Jason  Lee  in  their  hearts  was 
thenceforth  a  thing  of  the  past."  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  I,  p.  183.  The 
present  writer,  in  the  examination  of  source  material,  which  includes  the 
manuscript  collection  of  the  Bancroft  Library,  University  of  California,  has 
found  no  contemporary  document  or  letter  or  source  to  support  the  above 
statement  by  Bancroft.  Dr.  White  makes  an  unsympathetic  comment;  but 
White  had  been  discharged  as  mission  physician  by  Lee. — Miss  A.  J.  Allen 
(comp.),  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.   128. 

^  *  Records  in  Office  of  City  Clerk,  Barre,  Vermont.  Copied  by  Walter  R. 
Davenport,  D.D.,  January  31,  1931. 

"^^Ibid. 

^°  Catalogs  of  Newbury  Seminary,  1837,  1839;  Horace  W.  Bailey,  New- 
bury Seminary  Souvenir,  pp.  44,  45;  copy  of  Last  Will  and  Testament  of 
Joseph  Thomson,  by  A.  E.  Johansson,  Register,  Montpelier,  Vermont; 
Frederic  P.  Wells,  History  of  Newbury,  Vermont,  pp.  208-211;  letters  from 
Rev.  W.  R.  Davenport,  Montpelier.  Vermont;  letters  from  Frederic  P.  Wells, 
Newbury,  Vermont. 


AGAIN  EN  ROUTE  TO  OREGON  153 

When  I  took  leave  of  you,  I  expected  before  this  to  have  left  forever 
the  land  of  civilization,  but  we  have  been  detained  by  circumstances 
which  we  could  not  prevent.  The  probability  is  now  that  we  shall  set 
sail  on  Wednesday  next. 

You  would  like  to  know,  perhaps,  what  are  my  peculiar  feelings  at 
this  time  in  prospect  of  what  lies  before  me.  I  can  only  say  that  my 
trust  is  in  the  living  God.  I  am  calm  and  resigned.  I  look  forward 
upon  my  future  life  expecting  it  will  be  one  of  unremitting  toil  and 
anxiety.  I  expea  to  be  subjected  to  many  privations  and  hardships,  but 
none  of  these  things  move  me.  Neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto 
myself,  if  I  but  win  Christ. 

You  have  doubtless  often  thought  since  my  departure  from  my 
native  home  of  the  motives  which  actuated  me;  but  rest  assured  that 
no  considerations  of  an  earthly  nature  could  thus  have  induced  me  to 
leave  the  land  of  my  birth,  and  forego  the  pleasure  of  civilized  life,  bid 
adieu  to  affeaionate  brothers  and  sisters,  and  all  the  endearments  of 
friendship;  but  I  have  acted  from  a  firm  conviction  of  duty.  I  believe 
that  our  Savior  meant  what  he  said  when  he  told  his  disciples  "Go 
teach  all  nations,"  and  that  that  command  is  still  binding.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  in  obedience  to  this  command  I  leave  my  beloved  friends, 
the  home  of  my  childhood  and  all  I  have  hitherto  known  and  loved. 
But  think  not  that  my  heart  is  unfeeling  because  I  thus  voluntarily 
exile  myself  from  all  those  scenes  of  endearment  that  twine  around  my 
memory,  and  bind  me  closer  and  closer  as  I  think  of  leaving  them  for- 
ever. I  rejoice,  my  brother,  that  man  is  not  to  be  my  judge.  I  feel  that 
my  record  is  on  high;  my  only  ambition  is  to  glorify  God,  and  my 
only  aim  to  benefit  my  fellow  beings  who  are  perishing  for  lack  of 
knowledge. 

And  now,  my  dear  brother,  let  me  entreat  you  to  think  candidly 
and  prayerfully  on  the  things  which  relate  to  your  eternal  welfare. 
This  may  be  the  last  time  I  shall  ever  address  you.  I  may  be  called 
soon  to  follow  our  departed  sister  [a  half-sister,  Betsey  Thomson  Smith 
who  died  August  25,  1839]  to  the  world  of  spirits.  You  may  go  before 
me;  our  state  of  probation  may  soon  be  closed.  We  are  separated  for- 
ever as  far  as  this  life  is  concerned,  and  without  timely  preparation 
our  separation  will  be  eternal. 

I  leave  it,  as  my  dying  testimony,  with  you,  with  a  sister's  sincere 
desire  and  ardent  aflfection. 


154   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

I  have  written  to  Benjamin  [a  half-brother,  1799-1861]  the  par- 
ticulars respecting  our  accommodations  on  board  the  vessel.  I  refer  you 
to  him.  I  expea  we  shall  have  but  little  spare  room  on  board,  for 
there  is  a  large  family  of  us.  All  my  accommodations  are  better  than 
I  expeaed. 

Tuesday  Evening,  Oct.  8. 

The  long-looked-for  day  has  arrived;  our  vessel  is  in  the  stream; 
we  go  on  board  at  half  past  nine  tomorrow  morning.  We  sail  in  the 
ship  Lausanne,  Capt.  Spaulding. 

Let  no  feelings  of  anxiety  disturb  you  on  my  account,  for  I  have 
enough  for  my  comfort  on  the  passage. 

My  further  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Lee  proves  him  to  be  worthy  of 
the  confidence  which  I  reposed  in  him.  He  is  one  of  the  kindest,  best 
of  men,  and  every  way  deserving  my  affection.  In  a  word,  he  is  all 
to  me  that  an  earthly  friend  could  be. 

But  I  must  close. 

Farewell,  farewell. 

Lucy  T.  Lee." 

^■^  F.  H.  Grubbs,  Memorial  Souvenir  [o/]  Jason  Lee,  p.  70. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  LAUSANNE 

Farewell  meeting  in  New  York.  On  Thursday  evening,  Octo- 
ber 3,  1839,  a  farewell  meeting  was  held  in  the  Greene  Street 
Methodist  Church  in  New  York  City.  The  Rev.  Nathan  Bangs, 
corresponding  secretary  of  the  Society,  presided  and  G.  P.  Diso- 
sway,  a  prominent  New  York  merchant,  aaed  as  secretary.  The 
departing  missionaries  were  seated  on  the  platform.  As  his  name 
was  read,  each  missionary  was  introduced  to  the  audience.  The 
address  of  the  evening  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Robert  Alder,  a 
prominent  London  clergyman.^ 

The  Lausanne  party.  This  missionary  group  consisted  of  fifty- 
one  members. **  A  number  of  the  missionaries  were  from  New 
England,  the  State  of  New  York  was  well  represented,  and  two  of 
the  families  were  from  Illinois.  The  only  members  to  come  from 
the  South  were  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Kone  and  his  family.  Including 
Mr.  Lee,  six  ministers  were  in  the  party,  also  one  physician,  a  mis- 
sion steward  or  secular  agent,  and  four  young  women  teachers.  A 
number  of  laymen  to  fill  the  posts  of  mission  farmers,  cabinet- 
maker, carpenters,  and  blacksmiths  rounded  out  the  list.  Thomas 
Adams,  the  Chinook  Indian  boy,  was  now  returning  with  him  to 
Oregon.' 

^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  September  30,  1839,  XIV,  p.  19. 

*  David  Carter  joined  the  missionary  party  at  the  Sandwich  Islands.  This 
faa  doubtless  accounts  for  the  incorrect  statement  by  many  writers  that  the 
original  Lausanne  party  numbered  fifty-two. 

'  The  names  of  the  members  of  the  Great  Reinforcement  are  as  follows: 
Rev.  J.  H.  Frost,  wife,  and  one  child.  New  York  Conference;  Rev.  Gustavus 
Hines,  wife,  and  one  child,  Genesee  Conference;  Rev.  W.  W.  Kone  and  wife. 
North  Carolina  Conference;  Rev.  Alvin  F.  Waller,  wife,  and  two  children, 
Genesee  Conference;  Rev.  J.  P.  Richmond,  M.D.,  wife,  and  four  children, 

155 


156   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

The  widespread  interest  manifested  in  missionary  circles  in 
these  pilgrims  is  refleaed  in  the  following  account  of  the  departure 
of  Mr.  H.  B.  Brewer,  of  Wilbraham,  Massachusetts,  who  had  vol- 
unteered to  go  to  Oregon  as  mission  farmer: 

Mr.  H.  B.  Brewer  was  brought  up  in  this  place  [Wilbraham],  of 
respectable  parents,  who,  with  seven  of  their  children  are  worthy  mem- 
bers of  the  M.\  E.  Church.  Henry  is  the  second  son.  He  united  with 
the  church  about  eight  years  ago.  .  .  .  Having  long  felt  the  missionary 
flame  within  his  heart,  on  the  visit  of  Mr.  Jason  Lee  to  this  place,  after 
his  return  from  Oregon,  his  love  for  the  cause  was  much  increased, 
and  when  Mr.  Lee  called  for  more  help,  such  were  the  exercises  of  Br. 
Brewer's  mind  that  he  could  pursue  his  work  no  longer;  and  retiring 
to  consult  God,  and  then  his  friends,  he  concluded  to  offer  himself, 
leaving  to  Divine  Providence  to  make  his  way  plain.  Being  accepted, 
he  hastened  to  make  all  necessary  preparation.  He  has  been  united  by 
marriage  to  Miss  L.  L.  Giddin[g]s,  of  Franklin,  Conn.,  an  amiable, 
pious  and  accomplished  young  lady;  who  was  willing  to  forego  the 
endearments  of  home  and  friends,  and  share  with  him  the  toils,  perils, 
and  honors  of  a  mission  to  Oregon. 

We  deemed  it  proper  that  their  departure  from  us  should  be  at- 
tended by  appropriate  religious  exercises ;  and  accordingly  the  afternoon 
of  Sabbath  last  [Sept.  8,  1839}  was  devoted  to  that  purpose. 

Miss  E.  Phillips,  and  Miss  A.  Phelps,  who  are  going  from  Spring- 
field, were  invited  to  attend  with  us,  as  they  had  each  spent  consider- 
able time  at  Wilbraham  Academy,  and  had  many  dear  and  valuable 
friends  among  us.    The  church  was  crowded  at  an  early  hour.    The 

Illinois  Conference;  Mr.  Ira  L.  Babcock,  physician,  wife,  and  one  child.  New 
York;  Mr.  George  Abernethy,  mission  steward,  wife,  and  two  children.  New 
York;  Mr.  W.  W.  Raymond,  farmer,  and  wife,  Ballston  Spa,  New  York; 
Mr.  Henry  B.  Brewer,  farmer,  and  wife,  Wilbraham,  Massachusetts;  Mr. 
Lewis  H.  Judson,  cabinetmaker,  wife,  and  three  children;  Mr.  Josiah  L. 
Parrish,  blacksmith,  wife,  and  three  children.  New  York;  Mr.  James  Olley, 
carpenter,  East  Troy,  New  York;  Mr.  Hamilton  Campbell,  carpenter,  wife, 
and  child,  Springfield,  Illinois;  Miss  Maria  T.  Ware,  teacher,  Lowell,  Massa- 
chusetts; Chloe  A.  Clark,  teacher.  East  Windsor,  Connecticut;  Elmira  Phillips, 
teacher,  Springfield,  Massachusetts;  Almira  Phelps,  teacher,  Springfield,  Massa- 
chusetts; Orpha  Lankton,  stewardess,  Hartford,  Connecticut;  and  Thomas 
Adams,  Indian  boy. 

Order  of  Exercises,  Farewell  Missionary  Meeting,  published  in  Zion's  Her- 
ald, Oaober  9,  1839,  X,  p.  163. 


J 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  LAUSANNE  157 

services  were  opened  in  the  usual  manner,  by  our  respected  Presiding 
Elder,  D.  Dorchester,  and  an  appropriate  address  from  him,  on  the 
subject  of  missions.  The  youth,  the  Sabbath  School,  and  parents,  and 
relatives  were  respectively  addressed ;  also,  an  appropriate  dialogue  was 
spoken  by  two  Sabbath  scholars  and  appropriate  singing  was  inter- 
spersed. Rev.  M.  Raymond  then  addressed  the  missionaries  in  a  man- 
ner highly  creditable  to  himself,  and  his  subject;  and  in  behalf  of  the 
congregation,  took  them  by  the  hand,  and  pronounced  or  rather  im- 
plored on  them  their  Heavenly  Father's  blessing,  and  bid  them  a  last 
farewell.  .  .  . 

A  meeting  of  a  similar  kind  having  been  appointed  in  the  evening 
Sunday  [Sept.  8,  1839],  at  Springfield,  we  hastened  thither;  but  be- 
fore we  left,  there  was  another  scene  to  pass  through,  of  a  most  touch- 
ing character.  The  aged  and  afflicted  father,  unable  to  rise  from  his 
bed,  had  to  bid  farewell  to  an  affectionate  son.  A  mother,  too,  who 
had  watched  him  from  infancy,  and  fondly  hoped  he  would  have  been 
a  stay  and  comfort  of  her  old  age,  must  say  "farewell."  .  .  . 

The  meeting  in  Springfield  was  interesting,  especially  when  two  of 
our  Indian  boys  [John  T.  McKay  and  Alexander  McKay}  who  are 
here  at  school,  presented  to  the  missionaries  two  small  Bibles,  to  be 
forwarded  by  them  to  their  two  sisters,  who  are  still  in  Oregon. 

On  Monday  morning  [Sept.  9,  1839}  we  attended  them  to  the 
steamboat  for  New  York,  where  they  will  meet  the  rest  of  their  com- 
panions, and  then  they  will  sail  for  Oregon.* 

The  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce,  under  date  of  October  9, 
1839,  carried  this  account  of  the  sailing  of  the  mission  party  in  the 
Lausanne: 

The  ship  Lausanne  has  gone  to  sea,  having  on  board  the  large 
Methodist  Missionary  Expedition  to  the  Oregon  Territory,  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Dibble,  Missionary  of  the  American  Board,  and  his  family  for  the 
Sandwich  Islands. ° 

The  significance  of  so  large  a  missionary  colony  to  Oregon 
received  this  commentary  from  the  same  newspaper: 

^Zion's  Herald,  September  25,  1839,  X,  p.  156. 

*  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce,  Oaober  9,  1839,  p.  4,  col.  3. 


158    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

The  sending  of  this  large  expedition  to  Oregon  is  an  important  event, 
whether  considered  in  its  religious  or  political  bearings.  Among  other 
things,  it  will  expedite  the  settlement  of  the  Territory;  and  we  may 
hope  also  that  it  will  give  a  tone  to  the  moral  and  religious  character 
of  the  people,  resembling  that  of  the  early  settlers  of  Massachusetts. 
An  infant  community  is  easily  moulded  into  shape,  but  suffer  it  to 
grow  up  without  religious  influences,  and  any  attempts  at  reformation 
are  made  under  great  disadvantages.  With  all  our  hearts  we  wish  suc- 
cess to  this  mission,  and  the  noble  objects  which  it  is  designed  to  pro- 
mote. Its  primary  object,  we  believe,  is  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the 
Indians." 

Migration  to  Oregon.  The  Missouri  Republican  carried  this 
penetrating  news  item  foreshadowing  a  future  westward  move- 
ment "to  the  Columbia": 

In  addition  to  all  this  there  is  and  for  a  long  time  has  been  a  strong 
disposition  on  the  part  of  numerous  persons  in  the  west  to  remove  to 
the  Columbia.  This  inclination  has  been  steadily  growing  for  years 
and  frequently  manifests  itself  in  attempts  to  raise  colonies  for  the 
purpose  of  migrating;  and,  although  these  attempts,  thus  far,  have 
proved  fruitless,  still  the  failure  of  one  appears  not  to  check  the  spirit 
of  others,  and  no  sooner  is  one  abandoned  than  another  springs  up 
headed  by  some  new  spirit  and  in  some  other  quarter  from  where  the 
former  originated.  A  proposition  has  lately  been  put  forth  in  this  State 
for  the  formation  of  such  a  colony  and  efforts  are  making  we  imder- 
stand  to  enlist  a  large  number  in  the  enterprise,  with  how  much  suc- 
cess we  have  not  learned. 

We  have  emphatically  a  restless  population,  and  the  disposition  to 
migrate  to  new  and  comparatively  unoccupied  distrias  of  country  is 
manifest  among  all  classes  of  our  population,  and  especially  with  the 
settlers  of  the  new  States.  If  our  Government  would  but  furnish  a  little 
protection  and  will  tolerate  the  settlement  of  immigrants  in  the  Oregon 
Territory,  a  very  few  years  would  elapse  before  a  state  sufficiently 
strong  for  all  the  purposes  of  self-protection  would  be  planted.  This 
would  do  more  to  secure  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  the  entire 

'  Reproduced  from  the  Missouri  Republican  in  Sangamo  Journal,  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  Oaober  25,  1839,  IX,  p.  1. 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  LAUSANNE  159 

control  of  that  extensive  country  and  much  of  the  trade  of  the  Pacific, 
than  any  measure  which  could  be  started.  Our  Government  has  already 
too  long  neglected  this  subject,  and  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  the 
restless  spirit  of  the  people  alone  will  compel  attention  to  it. 

Such  a  colony  would  be  of  immense  advantage  to  the  growth  of  this 
city.  Namre  has  made  this  the  inland  route  of  communication  between 
the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  and  from  the  character  of  the  country, 
the  streams,  mountains,  &c.,  we  must  always  be  on  the  most  important 
route.  It  may  be  thought  speculative  to  expect  any  immediate  advan- 
tage to  this  city  from  this  source;  but  the  time  will  come,  and  we 
believe  shortly,  when  more  than  the  most  sanguine  now  fancies  will  be 
fully  realized.  At  present,  much  the  largest  portion  of  the  trade  of 
that  country  takes  an  unnatural  and  inconvenient  direaion  through  the 
far  northern  lakes,  and  rivers,  and  is  carried  on  at  immense  expense 
by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  who  monopolize  it.  This  monopoly 
cannot  continue,  and  whenever  it  is  broken  up  from  any  cause,  the 
products  of  nearly  all  that  immense  region  will  find  their  outlet 
through  this,  the  most  natural  and  easy  channel.'^ 

On  Oaober  9,  a  carriage  called  for  the  missionaries  at  their 
temporary  residences  to  convey  them  to  the  end  of  Whitehall  Dock, 
and  by  ten  o'clock  the  party  was  all  assembled.  The  tug  Hercules 
transported  them  from  the  dock  to  the  Lausanne,  which  was  at 
anchor  in  East  River.  A  short  but  impressive  shipboard  religious 
service,  in  charge  of  Dr.  Bangs,  was  concluded  with  the  baptism  of 
the  infant  son  of  Dr.  Richmond,  who  was  named  "Oregon"  in 
honor  of  the  land  to  which  they  were  going.  Mr.  Hamilton  Camp- 
bell, of  Springfield,  Illinois,  had  his  child  baptized  also.  The 
friends  who  accompanied  them  to  the  ship  said  their  farewells,  the 
anchor  was  weighed,  and  the  Lausanne  began  her  journey.  The 
Hercules  made  a  wide  circle  around  the  bow  of  the  vessel  and  re- 
turned to  New  York  harbor.  That  evening  the  Lausanne  anchored 
ofif  Sandy  Hook,  and  early  the  following  morning  sailed  away  from 
the  shores  of  the  United  States." 

'  Reproduced  from  the  Missouri  Republican  in  Sangamo  Journal,  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  Oaober  25,  1839,  IX,  p.  1. 

*  Sarah  R.  Frost  Beggs  letter,  reproduced  in  Atwood,  The  Conquerors, 
p.  89;  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  pp.  207,  212. 


160   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

On  Oaober  25,  the  Lausanne  passengers  observed  the  first  cen- 
tennial celebration  of  the  Methodist  Church  and  raised  the  sum  of 
$650  for  the  founding  of  the  pioneer  university  in  Oregon.*  Two 
days  later  Jason  Lee  addressed  the  little  company.  His  text, 
'Whether,  therefore  ye  eat,  or  drink,  or  vi^hatsoever  ye  do,  do  all 
for  the  glory  of  God"  must  have  been  a  favorite  one.  When 
preaching  the  first  Protestant  sermon  delivered  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  at  Fort  Hall,  four  years  before,  he  had  used  this  same 
New  Testament  passage.^"  On  December  9,  exaaly  two  months 
after  leaving  New  York,  the  Lausanne  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor 
of  Rio  de  Janeiro.  Lee  mentions  in  his  journal  that  the  "scenery 
around  Rio  de  Janeiro  is  exceedingly  beautiful  and  sublime."  ^^ 
During  their  six-day  stay  the  missionaries  were  entertained  by 
Justin  Spalding,  the  resident  Methodist  missionary. 

Cape  Horn  was  rounded  in  safety,  although  a  tremendous  gale 
accompanied  by  rain  and  sleet  retarded  their  progress,  so  that  the 
Straits  of  Magellan  were  not  reached  until  early  in  February. 
When  the  Lausanne  arrived  at  Valparaiso,  Chile,  they  found  this 
South  American  port  prostrated  by  a  smallpox  epidemic.  It  was 
impossible  to  escape  exposure,  for  it  was  necessary  to  go  ashore  to 
obtain  wood,  water,  and  provisions.  Unafraid,  Mr.  Lee  and  a  few 
others  landed,  mingled  with  the  people,  purchased  supplies,  and 
explored  the  city  and  surrounding  country.  While  at  Valparaiso, 
Lee  made  this  shrewd  comment  ^^  on  the  mission  family:  *T  have 
been  watching  our  reinforcement  in  order  to  discover  their  traits  of 
charaaer,  and  I  trust  we  shall  be  able  to  turn  them  all  to  some 
good  account  in  that  dark  land;  but  I  am  persuaded  that  it  is  one 
thing  to  be  a  missionary  on  the  Lausanne  and  another  to  be  a  good 
one  in  Oregon."  ^^ 

After  a  long  cruise  of  about  a  month  and  a  half  through 
southern  Pacific  waters,  the  highlands  of  the  island  of  Maui, 

*  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  February  28,  1840,  XIV,  p.  111. 

"■Ubid. 

"-"■Ibid.,  March  6,  1840,  XIV,  p.  115. 

^*  In  a  letter  to  Nathan  Bangs. 

*"  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  June  12,  1840,  XIV,  p.  172. 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  LAUSANNE  161 

Sandwich  Islands,  were  sighted  on  April  9.  Two  days  later  the 
Lausanne  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Honolulu,  where  a  cordial 
reception  was  accorded  the  weary  group  by  the  American  Board 
missionaries  stationed  there.  During  the  stay  in  Hawaii  Lee  closely 
observed  the  missionary  work  that  was  being  carried  on  among 
the  natives.  Sightseeing  was  another  entertaining  and  profitable 
pastime. 

Kamehameha  III.  An  unusual  incident  was  Mr.  Lee's  visit 
with  King  Kamehameha  IIL  Accompanied  by  the  United  States 
Consul,  he  walked  to  the  palace  where  he  paid  his  respeas  to  the 
monarch.  His  own  account  of  this  conference  is  a  modest  and 
matter-of-fact  recital.  The  somewhat  informal  commercial  agree- 
ment here  entered  into  proved  of  future  value  to  Oregon:  ^* 

We  were  shown  into  a  spacious  apartment  and  seated  where  we 
awaited  the  presence  of  the  king.  He  soon  entered,  attended  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Richards,  his  interpreter,  the  prime  minister,  and  the  chiefs. 
The  consul  presented  to  him  brother  Lee  as  the  superintendent  of  the 
expedition.  The  salutation  over,  all  quietly  seated,  the  consul  stated  our 
object  in  going  to  Oregon,  the  mutual  intercourse  and  exchange  of 
commodities  which  would  exist  between  the  two  countries,  and  rec- 
ommended us  to  the  same  favorable  reception  which  his  majesty  had 
always  been  wont  to  give  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  hoped 
that  the  same  friendly  intercourse  of  this  government  with  the  United 
States  and  its  citizens  might  continue  between  these  islands  and  the 
settlement  in  Oregon.  The  king  in  reply  said,  that  he  was  pleased  to 
see  us  going  to  Oregon  for  such  a  purpose;  that  it  was  good;  that  no 
doubt  the  exchange  of  commodities  would  be  beneficial  to  both  coun- 
tries; that  we  were  welcome  to  these  shores;  and  that  he  hoped  the 
friendly  relations  would  still  continue.  Brother  Lee  then  arose,  stated 
the  objea,  his  journey  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  his  entering  in 
among  the  Indians,  his  remrn  for  laborers,  and  that  we  were  now  going 
to  join  those  whom  he  had  left  among  the  Indians,  and  unite  our  exer- 
tions to  teach  them  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  above  all,  the  religion 
of  the  Bible,  which  maketh  wise  unto  salvation.  The  king  replied,  "He 
is  very  persevering."    Brother  Lee  expressed  his  joy  that  the  Gospel 

^*  Gustavus  Hines,  Missionary  Expedition  to  Oregon,  p.  80. 


162    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

had  met  such  a  favorable  reception  in  these  islands,  and  his  ardent 
desire  and  prayer  for  the  prosperity  of  the  country,  and  especially  for 
the  happiness  and  welfare  of  his  majesty  here  and  hereafter.  .  .  .  The 
Flathead  Indian  boy  [Thomas  Adams]  was  then  introduced;  the  king 
was  very  much  interested,  inquired  how  long  he  had  been  learning,  if 
he  could  speak  English,  upon  what  his  people  lived,  wished  to  hear 
him  speak  his  own  language,  &c.,  &c.  The  prime  minister  is  a  female 
of  immense  stature,  who  in  faa  administers  the  aflfairs  of  the  govern- 
ment. She  said  she  had  little  to  say  except  to  express  her  admiration 
and  her  wishes  for  our  success.  When  we  arose  to  depart,  the  king  and 
chiefs  arose  and  took  each  kindly  by  the  hand,  and  we  retired,  pleased 
and  gratified  by  our  interview.  ^^ 

Late  in  April  the  Lausanne  again  put  out  to  sea.  During  this 
last  portion  of  the  journey  Lee  delivered  six  instmaive  lectures 
on  the  history  of  the  Willamette  Mission.  The  weather  was  pleas- 
ant and  in  less  than  one  month  after  leaving  Honolulu  the  stormy 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  was  sighted.  Before  nightfall  the 
Lausanne  cast  anchor  in  Baker's  Bay.^^  Upon  the  appearance  of 
the  long-looked-for  vessel,  Daniel  Lee,  who  had  been  visiting  the 
Chinooks  in  the  vicinity,  hurried  to  it  by  canoe,  and  an  affeaionate 
meeting  took  place  between  uncle  and  nephew.  ^^ 

Arrival  in  Oregon.  Anxious  to  reach  the  Willamette  Mission, 
Jason  Lee  started  on  ahead  and,  traveling  by  canoe,  ascended  the 
Columbia  to  Vancouver.  Here  he  halted  for  a  few  hours  to  make 
arrangements  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Lausanne  passengers. 
Dr.  McLoughlin  received  him  with  "his  characteristic  kindness 
and  hospitality"  and  the  assurance  "that  he  had  room  for  Mr.  Lee 
and  all  his."  ^^  Pleased  and  relieved,  Lee  resumed  his  journey  and 
at  sunset  reached  the  lower  part  of  the  settlement  a  few  miles 
below  the  parent  mission  station.  Here  he  remained  all  night  as 
the  guest  of  Mrs.  E.  Tibbitts  [Calvin  Tibbets]  and  early  the  fol- 
lowing morning  set  out  on  horseback  for  the  mission,  where, 

^^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  January  27,  1841,  XV,  p.  94. 

**  George  Abernethy's  Journal,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  May  5, 
1841,  XV,  p.  149. 

*'  Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  225. 

**  Jason  Lee's  Journal,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  August  25,  1841, 
XVI,  p.  5. 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  THE  LAUSANNE  163 

arriving  unannounced,  he  surprised  the  mission  family  at 
breakfast. 

Mr.  Lee  remained  three  days  at  Willamette,  examining  the 
mission,  and  deciding  upon  his  future  progress.  Then,  realizing 
that  the  Lausanne  would  soon  be  arriving  at  Fort  Vancouver,  he 
announced  a  missionary  meeting  to  be  held  at  Fort  Vancouver  on 
June  3  and  hurriedly  retraced  his  steps  to  Vancouver.  ^"^ 

The  Lausanne  began  its  slow  up-river  voyage  on  May  20,  1840. 
Near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had 
erected  a  fort  on  the  site  of  the  old  Astoria  and  named  it  Fort 
George.  Here,  about  fourteen  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia,  the  missionary  reinforcement  was  hospitably  entertained 
by  Mr.  James  Birnie,  the  Hudson's  Bay  agent  in  charge.  Ignorance 
of  the  channel  and  unfavorable  winds  retarded  progress.  By 
May  28,  the  Lausanne  had  covered  less  than  half  the  distance  to 
Fort  Vancouver.  On  that  day,  however.  Dr.  McLoughlin  sent  the 
missionaries  a  welcome  gift  of  a  bag  of  fresh  bread  and  a  tub  of 
butter,  fresh  from  the  Vancouver  dairy  house.  The  ninety-mile 
up-river  voyage  to  Vancouver  required  ten  days.  Not  until  June  1, 

1840,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  did  the  Lausanne  drop  anchor 
near  the  hospitable  fort.  Dr.  McLoughlin  came  out  to  the  ship 
to  greet  them  and  invited  all  ashore  to  take  tea  with  him.  His 
invitation  was  accepted  by  Captain  Spaulding  and  four  others, 
while  the  remainder  of  the  party  stayed  on  board  until  the  next 
day.""  At  Fort  Vancouver  every  courtesy  and  kindness  was  shown 
the  members  of  the  ''Great  Reinforcement."  Comfortable  accom- 
modations were  provided  for  each  person.  A  private  sitting  room 
was  set  aside  for  the  missionaries'  use,  and  they  dined  at  a  separate 
table,  as  did  the  women  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.^ ^  Here, 
on  June  2,  Jason  Lee  rejoined  them." 

^"  Jason  Lee's  Journal,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  August  25,  1841, 
XVI,  p.  5. 

*°  Extraas  from  Journal  of  Captain  Josiah  Spaulding,  House  Report  830, 
27  Cong.,  2  Sess. 

"^Mrs.  Anne  Abernethy,  The  Mission  Family,  MSS.  (Banaoft  Library), 
p.   2;   George  Abernethy's  Journal,    Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,   May   5, 

1841,  XV,  p.  149. 

**  Jason  Lee's  Journal,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  August  25,  1841, 
XVL 


CHAPTER  X 

LEE'S  PROGRAM  OF  EXPANSION 

Strategic  points.  June  3,  1840,  is  a  significant  date  in  early 
Oregon  history,  for  it  formally  marks  the  beginning  of  Jason 
Lee's  program  of  expansion  for  the  Oregon  Mission.  On  that 
Wednesday  evening  all  the  members  of  the  missionary  force  as- 
sembled in  a  spacious  room  at  Fort  Vancouver,  and  Superintendent 
Lee  assigned  them  to  their  various  fields  of  labor.  Note  the  pro- 
phetic judgment  in  the  choice  of  the  stations,  every  one  of  which 
became  important  points  when  the  United  States  later  extended 
its  jurisdiaion  over  Oregon:  Nisqually,  on  Puget  Sound;  Clat- 
sop, at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia;  a  projeaed  station  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Umpqua  in  southern  Oregon;  The  Dalles,  the  modern  "gate- 
way to  the  Inland  Empire";  the  Indian  station  at  the  "Falls,"  now 
Oregon  City,  where  was  located  the  best  water-power  site  in  Old 
Oregon;  Chemeketa,^  where  a  sawmill  and  a  grist  mill  were  to 
be  ereaed.  A  racy  account  of  this  first  general  meeting,  which 
marked  the  beginning  of  the  "New  Era"  in  Oregon  missionary 
history,  is  furnished  by  Dr.  Elijah  P.  White,  who  was  present: 

The  next  day  [Lee]  invited  Dr.  White  to  accompany  him  to  Fort 
Vancouver  to  meet  the  reinforcement.  In  compliance  with  the  super- 
intendent's request,  they  were  all  convened  at  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  when  they  received  their  appointments,  and  listened  to  a  few 
remarks  from  him,  after  which  the  doctor  addressed  them,  giving  an 
account  of  the  deaths,  revivals,  reformations,  etc.,  at  The  Dalles  and 
Willamette,  and  all  of  which  seemed  much  to  interest  them.  In  mrn, 
he  was  much  pleased  with  the  neat  and  respectable  appearance  of  his 

^  The  modern  Salem. 

164 


LEE'S  PROGRAM  OF  EXPANSION  165 

auditors.  Having  been  three  years  so  completely  isolated  from  the 
fashionable  world,  the  new  modes  and  fashions  which  they  brought 
with  them  struck  him  very  pleasantly,  and  he  thought  that  so  large  a 
party,  and  of  such  a  cast,  refleaed  honor  on  the  American  churches, 
and  told  favorably  for  their  sentiments  on  the  subject  of  missions.  It 
seemed  really  like  the  arrival  of  the  pilgrim  fathers  in  New 
England.  .  .  . 

There  were  fifty-two  members  of  the  new  recruit,  and  the  following 
is  the  disposition  which  was  made  of  them.  Dr.  Richmond  and  lady, 
without  being  gratified  with  a  sight  of  the  old  mission  at  the  Willa- 
mette, were  sent  off  to  Nesqually,  a  hundred  miles  north  of  the  Colum- 
bia, and  Mr.  Frost  and  lady  to  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Dr.  Babcock 
and  family,  and  Mr.  Brewer,  were  despatched  to  the  assistance  of  Lee 
and  Perkins,  at  the  Dalles.  The  residue  were  conveyed  to  the  mission, 
to  be  afterwards  distributed  as  should  be  deemed  advisable.  .  .  .  Mr. 
Lee's  objea  seemed  principally  to  introduce  a  better  state  of  things 
among  the  white  settlers,  which,  to  a  great  degree,  succeeded.^ 

The  Dalles  branch  station.  The  earliest  branch  mission  estab- 
lished was  the  Indian  station  at  The  Dalles.  It  was  situated  on  an 
elevation  about  one  mile  back  from  the  Columbia  River,  and  was 
surrounded  by  a  grove  of  white  oak  and  yellow  pine  trees,  with  a 
spring  of  clear  water  near  by.*  Perkins'  journal  furnishes  a  glimpse 
of  the  two  unusually  enterprising  New  Englanders  stationed  there 
(Daniel  Lee  and  H.  K.  W.  Perkins),  promptly  beginning  the  con- 
struaion  of  their  mission  house: 

As  we  had  no  house,  we  pitched  our  tent  and  began  our  work  .  .  . 
building,  of  course,  to  screen  ourselves  as  soon  as  possible  from  the 
scorching  rays  of  a  summer  sun.  The  work  of  building  to  persons  in 
our  situation,  however,  was  not  a  trifling  labor.  For  first,  a  team  was 
wanting  to  draw  the  timber.  Instead  of  this,  we  were  under  the  neces- 
sity of  employing  a  large  gang  of  natives  to  drag  it  together  by  means 
of  long  ropes,  a  stick  at  a  time.  To  their  praise  it  should  be  said,  that 

*  Allen  (comp.),  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  Travels  and  Adventures  of  Dr. 
E.  White  and  Lady,  pp.  122-123. 

*  This  spring  is  now  the  source  of  water  supply  for  The  Dalles  High  School 
building.  John  B.  Horner,  Oregon,  Her  History,  Her  Great  Men,  Her  Lit- 
erature (Corvallis,  1919),  p.  71. 


166   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

this  was  done  gratuitously;  but  the  only  thing  ever  done  for  us  by 
them  in  this  way. 

To  obtain  shingle  timber  we  went  to  the  mountains  for  the  red  fir, 
and  packed  our  shingles  upon  our  horses,  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve 
miles.  Having  obtained  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  another 
Hawaiian,  we  set  to  work  with  the  pit  saw,  and  were  thus  able  to 
obtain  a  few  rough  boards  for  flooring,  partitions,  doors,  and  so  forth. 
Our  chimney  was  construaed  of  wood,  stone  and  clay.* 

Until  their  little  farm  traa  was  under  cultivation  supplies  had 
to  be  procured  from  Fort  Vancouver  or  from  the  Willamette  Mis- 
sion station.  The  canoe  journey  between  the  Willamette  Mission 
and  The  Dalles  was  a  truly  hazardous  undertaking,  as  is  quite  evi- 
dent from  an  account  by  Daniel  Lee,  a  successful  canoe  mariner  of 
those  primitive  days.** 

Introduction  of  cattle.  In  September,  1838,  Lee  and  Perkins 
introduced  the  first  herd  of  cattle  into  The  Dalles  area.  In  order 
to  procure  these  animals,  Daniel  Lee  made  an  exceptionally  hazard- 
ous journey  from  The  Dalles  to  the  Willamette  Mission,  and  a 
few  weeks  later  retraced  his  steps.  These  two  trail  journeys  de- 
serve to  be  ranked  with  the  greatest  mountaineering  exploits  in 
early  Oregon  annals.' 

By  the  autumn  of  1839,  the  first  mission  residence  at  The 
Dalles  was  completed.  It  was  a  one-and-a-half-story  log  house, 
thirty  feet  long  and  twenty  feet  wide.  The  lower  floor  contained 
two  rooms.  One  of  these  rooms  was  used  as  a  living  apartment 
by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Perkins;  the  other  served  as  a  dining  room.  The 
upper  story  of  the  house  was  divided  into  six  small  rooms,  which 
served  the  double  purpose  of  schoolrooms  and  living  quarters  for 
the  Indians.  Underneath  the  mission  house  was  an  excellent  cellar, 
eight  feet  high.  The  cellar  walls  rose  three  feet  above  the  ground 
level.    Daniel  Lee  speaks  with  pride  of  this  basement  room  as 

*  H.  K.  W.  Perkins'  Journal,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  September 
13,  1843,  XVIII,  p.  17. 

°  Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  pp.  248,  249. 

•  H.  K.  "W.  Perkins'  Journal,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  September 
13,  1843,  XVIII,  p.  17. 


LEE'S  PROGRAM  OF  EXPANSION  167 

providing  not  only  "a  good  chamber,"  but  making  possible  "a 
chimney  and  two  good  fireplaces."  ^  A  small  structure,  planned 
to  serve  both  as  church  and  schoolhouse,  was  also  begun  in  the 
fall  of  1839,  and  before  the  close  of  that  year  a  small  workshop 
had  also  been  ereaed  on  the  mission  premises. 

1840  Indian  revwals.  By  the  year  1840,  there  were  numerous 
conversions  among  the  tribes  that  lived  in  the  region  of  The 
Dalles.  The  most  notable  of  a  series  of  revival  meetings  took  place 
near  The  Dalles  in  April,  1840.  This  Indian  gathering,  perhaps 
the  largest  held  in  Old  Oregon  under  the  superintendency  of 
Jason  Lee,  took  place  near  the  site  of  the  present  Dalles  Academy. 
A  short  distance  to  the  south  of  the  academy,  near  the  base  of  a 
rocky  precipice,  the  missionaries  pitched  their  tents.  Before  them 
in  a  huge  semicircle  were  the  Indian  wigwams. 

At  this  meeting  [reported  Daniel  Lee]  about  1200  were  present  from 
the  villages  along  the  river  from  the  Cascades,  from  Wishram,  and 
Caclasco,  and  from  the  neighboring  Walla- Wallas,  and  the  Clickitats, 
as  named  above.  The  spot  was  chosen  in  the  open  plain,  bounded  on 
one  side  by  a  ridge  of  rocks,  at  the  foot  of  which  the  writer  pitched 
his  tent,  while  on  either  hand  were  ranged  the  forty  wigwams  of  the 
natives,  gradually  rounding  in  a  circle,  meeting  in  front,  and  enclosing 
an  area  of  half  an  acre.  The  wigwams  were  made  of  willow  poles  set 
in  the  ground  in  a  circular  or  oblong  form,  inclining  toward  the  centre 
at  an  angle  of  fift}^  degrees,  and  enclosed  with  mats  of  grass,  having 
a  large  opening  at  the  top,  and  a  door  at  each  end,  with  a  fire  in  the 
middle,  and  sometimes  two  fires,  when  the  tenement  was  long,  and 
then  it  was  occupied  by  a  large  number,  perhaps  thirty.  When  it  was 
completed,  the  tops  of  the  poles  were  the  most  prominent  elevation  of 
our  city,  which  had  grown  up  in  a  day.  ...  At  daylight  they  were 
awakened  by  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  soon  after  engaged,  first  in 
singing,  and  then  in  prayer,  in  their  houses.  .  .  .  Thus  the  time  was 
employed  till  the  ensuing  sabbath,  our  meeting  having  continued  from 
Monday,  when  the  communion  was  administered  to  several  hun- 
dreds.® 

^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  September  13,  1838,  XIV,  p.  18. 
®  Lee  and  Frost,  op.  cit.,  pp.  190-193. 


168   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

In  1840,  the  family  of  Henry  B.  Brewer,  the  mission  farmer, 
was  added  to  the  little  mission  settlement. 

By  1841  there  were  on  the  mission  grounds  two  log  and  ''board" 
houses,  a  small  barn,  and  several  outbuildings.  The  harvest  of  1841 
is  described  as  good,  the  little  irrigated  farm  traas  having  yielded 
good  crops  of  wheat  and  potatoes. ° 

Deputy-Governor  George  Simpson,  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, on  his  famous  world  tour,  visited  The  Dalles  station  in  late 
August  of  1841.  His  description  of  conditions  at  this  station 
is  one  of  the  most  discriminating  and  informative  furnished  by 
any  traveler  of  the  period. 

At  a  distance  of  two  or  three  miles  below  the  rapids  we  reached  the 
American  mission  of  Whaspicum  [Wascopam}  remarkable  to  us  as  the 
place  where  we  saw  growing  timber  for  the  first  time  since  leaving 
Okanagan.  On  visiting  the  establishment,  we  were  much  pleased  with 
the  progress  that  had  been  made  in  three  years.  .  .  .  The  missionaries 
said  that  they  were  as  happy  in  their  new  homd  as  they  could  expea 
to  be;  at  the  same  time,  that  they  had  not  found  the  land  of  promise 
which  they  came  to  seek.  .  .  .  But  the  soil  was  not  good  nor  could  it 
possibly  be  so,  where  twenty-one  rattle-snakes,  reptiles  delighting  in 
sands  and  rocks,  had  been  killed  within  the  last  three  months. 

Mr.  [Daniel]  Lee,  the  head  of  the  mission,  accompanied  us  to  our 
encampment  to  supper ;  and  while  that  meal  was  preparing  we  enjoyed 
a  delicious  bath  by  moonlight  in  the  stream  that  now  glittered  so 
placidly  before  us.^** 

During  the  last  year  of  Jason  Lee's  superintendency  of  the 
Oregon  Mission,  The  Dalles  station  contained  good-looking  dwel- 
ling houses,  commodious  schoolhouses,  and  stables.  There  was 
also  a  garden  patch.  Between  the  Columbia  River  and  the  eleva- 
tion on  which  the  mission  buildings  stood  was  a  prosperous- 
looking  stretch  of  cleared  fields,  in  which  scattered  about  were 
the  wooden  huts  of  an  Indian  village.    The  presence  of  these 

°  Charles  Wilkes,  Narrative  of  United  States  Exploring  Expedition  (Phila- 
delphia, 1844),  IV,  p.  382. 

^°Sir  George  Simpson,  Narrative  of  a  Journey  Round  the  World  .  .  ., 
1841  and  1842.   2  vols.  (London,  1847),  I,  pp.  169,  170. 


LEE'S  PROGRAM  OF  EXPANSION  169 

human  habitations  "gave  to  the  valley  the  cheerful  and  busy  air 
of  civilization,  and  had  ...  an  appearance  of  abundance  and 
enviable  comfort."  ^^ 

Nisqually  Branch  Mission.  The  assignment  of  Dr.  John  P. 
Richmond  to  the  Nisqually  Branch  Mission  station  on  June  3, 
1840,  marked  the  beginning  of  Protestant  missionary  effort  in 
that  portion  of  Old  Oregon  lying  north  of  the  Columbia  River. 
To  the  Richmonds  belongs  the  distinaion  of  being  the  first  Ameri- 
can family  to  settle  in  the  Puget  Sound  area  of  the  present  state 
of  Washington.  The  founding  of  Nisqually,  the  northernmost 
of  Jason  Lee's  mission  stations,  was  part  of  a  carefully  worked  out 
plan.  As  early  as  1838,  Mr.  Lee  visited  the  Puget  Sound  distria, 
seleaed  an  excellent  site,  and  in  the  spring  of  1839  sent  Aaing 
Superintendent  Leslie  and  Mr.  W.  H.  Willson,  the  Willamette 
Mission  carpenter,  to  put  up  the  building  that  would  house  the 
missionary  reinforcement  of  1840.^^ 

This  mission  house  was  located  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile 
east  of  Fort  Nisqually,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  post.  The  log 
cabin  was  thirty-two  feet  long  and  eighteen  feet  wide,  with  walls 
nine  feet  high.  Within  the  stockaded  enclosure  was  a  little  plot 
of  ground  planned  to  be  a  garden  patch.  The  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  officers  and  men  at  Fort  Nisqually  were  generous 
and  cordial  in  their  attitude  toward  Leslie  and  Willson.  This  faa 
is  noteworthy  when  it  is  remembered  that  these  Americans  came 
as  the  vanguard  of  settlers  who  were  to  challenge  the  supremacy 
of  the  British  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  this  disputed  area.  A 
powerful  agent  in  promoting  these  cordial  relations  was  Dr. 
McLoughlin,  the  large-souled  chief  faaor  at  Fort  Vancouver.  ^^ 

At  this  remote  Nisqually  station  Dr.  Richmond  was  assisted  by 
Mr.  W.  H.  Willson,  the  mission  carpenter,  and  Miss  Chloe  A. 

^^  John  C.  Fremont,  The  Exploring  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains 
(Buffalo,  1853),  p.  257;  Sir  George  Simpson,  Narrative  of  a  Journey  round  the 
World  .    .    .  ,  1841  and  1842.    2  vols.  (London,  1847),  I,  pp.  169,  170. 

^^  Pamphlet,  "1841  Fourth  of  July  (1906),"  p.  29. 

^'  C.  B.  Bagley,  "In  the  Beginning"  in  Ezra  Meeker,  Pioneer  Reminiscences 
of  Puget  Sound  (Seattle,  Washington,  1905),  pp.  464-554;  Atwood,  The  Con- 
querors, pp.  106,  126. 


170   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Clark,  a  recent  Lausanne  arrival,  the  mission  teacher.  The  Rich- 
monds  left  Fort  Vancouver  on  July  2,  1840.  They  floated  down 
the  Columbia  in  canoes  to  the  mouth  of  the  Cowlitz  River,  which 
they  ascended  as  far  as  that  stream  was  navigable.  Dr.  Richmond's 
own  account  of  this  venturesome  summer  voyage  northward 
through  the  future  state  of  Washington  is  a  charming  contempo- 
rary source  reproduced  here  for  the  first  time.  It  was  written  a 
few  months  after  his  arrival  at  Nisqually.  The  missionary  party 

.  .  .  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Cowlitz  River.  We  found  the  current 
for  some  miles  tolerably  smooth;  but  after  that  it  became  rapid,  and 
required  the  utmost  energies  of  our  boatmen  to  make  headway.  We, 
however,  had  a  pleasant  time;  and  in  two  days  ascended  the  river  to 
the  commencement  of  the  portage;  and  on  Sabbath  morning,  5th  July, 
we  were  encamped  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  contiguous  to  the  Coural- 
itz  [Cowlitz]  farming  port,  belonging  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
Here  we  spent  the  sabbath  as  pleasantly  as  we  could;  but  we  had  a 
very  disagreeable  night,  occasioned  by  the  arrival  of  a  considerable 
number  of  Indians  who  encamped  all  around  us,  and  who  annoyed  us 
during  the  whole  night  with  whooping  and  singing.  We  slept  but 
little;  one  of  us  being  compelled  to  keep  a  look  out  to  prevent  the 
Indians  from  stealing  our  goods,  which  otherwise  were  rather  exposed. 

On  Monday  morning  we  were  very  kindly  invited  by  Mr.  [Charles] 
Forrest,  who  is  in  charge  of  the  farm,  to  take  up  quarters  at  the  farm 
house  until  we  could  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the  further 
prosecution  of  our  journey.  He  accordingly  sent  a  cart  to  carry  our 
goods  to  the  house,  and  also  horses  for  our  ladies  to  ride,  the  distance 
being  about  two  or  three  miles  from  the  landing. 

Here  we  remained  until  Tuesday  the  7th  of  July  [1840]  ;  and  having, 
through  the  kind  assistance  of  Mr.  Forrest,  secured  seventeen  horses, 
the  number  sufficient  for  the  transportation  of  ourselves  and  effeas 
through  the  portage,  when  we  set  out  about  noon  under  the  guidance 
of  several  half  breeds,  and  two  Indian  women,  who  took  charge  of  the 
eldest  of  my  children.  We  found  the  roads  very  bad,  and  progressed 
very  slowly,  sometimes  through  dense  forests,  and  sometimes  over 
beautiful  plains,  until  the  third  day  after  leaving  the  Courlaitz,  and 
arrived  at  our  destination  in  good  health  and  spirits. 

We  were  very  kindly  received  by  Mr.  [William]  Kittson,  the  gen- 
tleman in  charge  of  Fort  Nesqually,  who  furnished  us  with  several 


LEE'S  PROGRAM  OF  EXPANSION  171 

rooms  within  the  stockades,  and  invited  us  to  the  hospitalities  of  his 
house  and  table.  We  remained  at  the  Fort  about  three  weeks,  having 
every  attention  and  accommodation  within  the  power  of  Mr.  Kittson, 
and  his  excellent  wife,  to  render  our  situation  comfortable.  At  the 
expiration  of  which  time,  Mr.,  Willson  having  laid  part  of  the  lower 
floor  in  the  mission  house,  we  removed  and  commenced  house-keeping 
for  ourselves.  Our  cooking  for  several  months  was  done  out  of  doors, 
and  our  table  consisted  of  several  boxes  permanently  located  in  the 
middle  of  the  floor.  ^* 

First  American  marriage.  In  the  summer  of  1840  at  the  primi- 
tive log  mission  house  occurred  the  first  marriage  of  an  American 
couple  in  northwestern  Washington.  Dr.  Richmond  on  August 
16,  1840,  united  in  matrimony  his  popular  and  companionable  lay 
helper,  William  H.  Willson,  and  Miss  Chloe  Aurelia  Clark,  the 
mission  teacher.  The  beginnings  of  domestic  life  established  by 
the  union  of  these  two  missionary  pioneers  continues  unbroken  to 
the  present  time  in  one  of  Old  Oregon's  prominent  families." 

First  American  birth.  On  February  28,  1842,  the  first  white 
American  child  was  born  in  the  Puget  Sound  distria.  This  record 
in  the  Richmond  family  Bible  tells  the  story: 

Francis  Richmond,  son  of  John  P.  Richmond  and  his  wife,  America, 
was  born  at  Puget  Sound,  near  Nesqually,  Oregon  Territory,  on  the 
28th  of  February,  Anno  Domini  1842,  and  was  baptized  by  Rev.  Jason 
Lee,  superintendent  of  Oregon  Mssions.^' 

Although  Dr.  Richmond's  mission  was  located  north  of  the 
Columbia  River,  and  consequently  in  a  region  which  Great  Britain 
expeaed  would  be  her  territory  after  the  settlement  of  the  bound- 
ary controversy,  yet  the  records  show  numerous  courtesies  extended 
to  Dr.  Richmond  by  his  British  neighbors.  These  communications 
from  Chief  Faaor  McLoughlin  to  Mr.  A.  C.  Anderson,  the  Hud- 

^*Rev.  J.  P.  Richmond's  Journal,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  Sep- 
tember 8,  1841,  XVI,  p.  13. 

^  ^  Mrs.  J.  K.  Gill,  Portland,  Oregon,  was  the  granddaughter  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Willson. 

*°  Clarence  B.  Bagley,  "In  the  Beginning,"  reproduced  in  E2xa  Meeker, 
Pioneer  Reminiscences  of  Puget  Sound,  pp.  507,  508. 


172   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

son's  Bay  official  in  charge  of  Fort  Nisqually,  are  eloquent  testi- 
mony to  this  effea: 

October  17,  1840 
You  will  please  supply  Dr.  Richmond  with  five  bushels  of  pease  and 
four  barrels  of  flour. 

February  1,  1841 
You!  can  lend  six  broken-in  cows  to  the  Methodist  Mission  for  the 
season,  and  after  some  time  when  their  calves  are  big  you  will  let  them 
go  and  give  the  missionaries  others  in  their  place. 

February  1,  1841 
Please  hand  the  accompanying  pamphlets  to  Rev.  Dr.  Richmond  with 
my  compliments,  and  after  perusal  I  beg  he  will  return  them  to  you, 
and  you  will  please  send  them  back  by  first  opportunity. 

Vancouver,  31  March,  1841 
Mr.  A.  C.  Anderson. 

Dear  Sir: — ^This  will  be  handed  to  you  by  the  Revd.  Jason  Lee,  whom 
I  beg  to  introduce  to  your  polite  attentions,  and  request  you  will  be  so 
good  as  to  afford  him  such  assistance  as  he  may  require. 

I  am,  very  truly, 

John  McLoughlin.^' 

Dr.  Richmond's  service  in  Oregon  was  brief.  After  less  than  a 
year  and  a  half  at  the  Nisqually  station  he  returned  to  Illinois, 
having  become  convinced  that  the  prospeas  for  usefulness  among 
the  Puget  Sound  Indians  did  not  warrant  his  remaining  longer 
among  them.  His  family  had  suffered  serious  ill  health.  The 
harsh  conditions  of  pioneer  life,  devoid  entirely  of  educational 
and  cultural  opportunities,  also  contributed  to  his  decision  to 
terminate  his  career  as  an  Oregon  missionary.  On  September  1, 
1842,  with  his  wife  and  five  young  children,  he  sailed  for  the 
United  States  on  the  American  brig,  the  Chanamus,  bound  for 
Newburyport,  Massachusetts.^® 

^'Clarence  B.  Bagley,  "In  the  Beginning,"  reproduced  in  Ezra  Meeker, 
Pioneer  Reminiscences  of  Puget  Sound,  pp.  520,  541. 

^^  Wilkes,  United  States  Exploring  Expedition  (Philadelphia,  1844),  IV., 
pp.  411-413;  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  I,  pp.  189,  190;  Lee  and  Frost,  Ten 
Years  in  Oregon,  p.  323. 


LEE'S  PROGRAM  OF  EXPANSION  173 

Clatsop.  To  Clatsop,  the  important  branch  station  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  River,  Superintendent  Lee  assigned  Rev.  Joseph 
H.  Frost,  v^ith,  later,  Rev.  W.  W.  Kone  as  his  associate.  Rev.  Frost 
received  his  appointment  as  "Missionary  to  Oregon"  from  Bishop 
Hedding  early  in  1839/'  and  soon  thereafter  was  in  New  York 
City. 

The  Frosts  were  the  first  to  reach  Clatsop,  an  uncivilized,  un- 
attractive Indian  settlement  near  Astoria.  In  September,  1840, 
Rev.  William  W.  and  Mrs.  Kone  joined  them.  Rev.  Kone's  origi- 
nal assignment  was  as  Indian  missionary  to  the  Umpqua  Valley, 
but  when  Superintendent  Lee  decided  to  abandon  his  earlier  plan 
for  work  among  the  Umpquas,  he  was  detailed  to  serve  as  mission 
associate  at  Clatsop.  It  was  a  trying  field,  and  Mr.  Frost's  journal 
shows  clearly  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kone  was  neither  by  temperament 
nor  constitution  fitted  for  the  missionary  service  here  assigned  him. 
In  April,  1841,  a  son  was  born  to  the  Kones  and  in  November  of 
that  year  Mr.  Kone  applied  for  permission  to  return  to  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Frost  records  the  reasons  for  his  colleague's  retirement 
as  follows: 

In  view  of  the  unpromising  prospea  of  the  natives,  and  the  continu- 
ally declining  state  of  Mrs.  Kone's  health,  Mr.  Kone  made  application 
to  return  to  the  States,  which  was  granted;  and  as  the  bark  Columbia, 
Captain  Humphreys,  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  ready  to  sail 
for  Oahu,  one  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Mr.  Kone  and  the  Rev.  A.  B. 
Smith  and  families  took  passage  on  board  of  her;  so  that  on  the  30th 
of  November,  1841,  I  found  myself  and  family  alone.  ...''** 

Mrs.  Viaor  makes  this  frank  and  discriminating  comment  on 
Mr.  Kone's  withdrawal  from  the  Oregon  Mission  field:  "He  took 
leave  of  Oregon  after  a  residence  of  a  year  and  half,  leaving  no 
grand  achievements,  and  harboring  in  his  breast  no  regret  for  his 
lost  occupation."  " 

Prejudicial  reports.    The  following  brief  quotation  from  the 

^^  May  25,  1839. 

^°  Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  310. 

^^  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  I,  p.  187. 


174   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

annual  report  for  the  year  1846  shows  clearly  that  Rev.  Kone,  upon 
his  return  to  New  York  City,  gave  the  Mission  Board  a  report  of 
the  Oregon  situation  which  was  injurious  to  Superintendent  Lee. 
"Letters  were  subsequently  received  from  Messrs.  Kone  and  Rich- 
mond, and  also  one  signed  by  several  lay  members  of  the  mission, 
all  of  which  expressed  dissatisfaaion  with  their  circumstances,  and 
more  or  less  with  the  superintendent."  ** 

Immediately  upon  his  arrival  at  Clatsop,  Rev.  Frost,  assisted  by 
Calvin  Tibbets  and  Solomon  Smith,  two  recent  settlers  on  Clatsop 
Plain,  began  the  constmaion  of  his  mission  house.  During  this 
period  the  Frosts  were  the  guests  of  Mr.  James  Birnie,  the  resident 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  trader  at  Fort  George.  Mrs.  Frost  has 
preserved  this  warning  message  from  Mr.  Birnie:  "Don't  go  to 
those  Clatsop  Indians;  they  will  kill  you,"  *^  but  she  found  it 
unjustified. 

Mr.  Frost  [she  writes}  told  the  Indians  that  they  must  not  kill,  or 
steal,  or  commit  adultery;  they  must  love  God  and  love  each  other. 
They  promised  to  do  as  we  said,  and  they  literally  kept  their  word  as 
long  as  we  remained  among  them.  They  never  showed  any  rudeness 
or  indignity  to  us.  They  willingly  assisted  us  in  building  the  mission- 
house.  I  mention  these  things  to  show  that  they  were  not  as  bad  as 
represented.** 

Lieutenant  Charles  Wilkes.  In  May,  1841,  Lieutenant  (later 
Captain)  Charles  Wilkes,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  visited  the 
Frosts  and  makes  interesting  comment  in  his  official  report  of 
1845.  At  the  risk  of  disturbing,  perhaps,  the  continuity  of  our 
story  of  Mr.  Lee's  career,  we  quote  from  him  briefly: 

...  at  an  early  hour  next  morning  [May  24,  1841]  we  set  out,  crossed 
Young's  Bay  .  .  .  after  walking  a  mile  came  to  the  mission,  where  we 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frost.  Mr.  Frost  gave  us  a 
kind  welcome  at  his  new  dwelling,  which  I  understood  him  to  say  had 
been  built  with  his  own  hands.  His  wife  appeared  cheerful  and  happy, 

^^  Methodist  Reports,  1846,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XXIII,  p.  345. 
*"  Sarah  R.  Frost  Beggs*  letter,  in  Atwood,  The  Conquerors,  p.  91. 
^^Ibid. 


LEE'S  PROGRAM  OF  EXPANSION  175 

and  made  herself  quite  agreeable.  The  house  is  a  frame  one  of  one 
story,  and  contains  three  rooms;  it  is  situated  in  a  young  spruce  and 
pine  grove,  which  is  thought  to  be  the  most  healthy  situation  here. 
There  are  two  American  settlers,  who  are  building  houses  here,  named 
respeaively  Tibbits  [Calvin  Tibbets]  and  [Solomon]  Smith;  both  of 
them  are  very  respeaable  men,  and  good  mechanics.  This  place  is  not 
susceptible  of  improvement,  and  I  understood  that  it  had  been  chosen 
for  its  salubrity.  I  imderstood  that  Mr.  Frost  was  engaged  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Koen  [Kone]  in  cultivating  a  tract  of  land  about  four  miles 
distant.  The  latter  resides  upon  the  traa,  and  is  occupied  in  raising 
a  large  crop  and  superintending  cattle.  There  appeared  to  me  to  be 
little  opportunity  for  exercising  their  ministerial  calling,  though  I 
understood  afterwards  that  at  particular  seasons  a  number  of  Indians 
collected  to  hear  them.*" 

During  the  late  summer  of  1841,  Rev.  Frost  was  a  member  of 
the  first  party  of  white  men  to  travel  by  land  from  Clatsop  Mission 
to  the  Willamette  station.  This  route  had  hitherto  been  known 
only  to  the  Indians.  Frost,  in  company  with  Solomon  Smith,  John 
Taylor,  an  English  sailor,  and  three  Indians,  journeyed  south  from 
Clatsop  to  Tillamook  Bay.  From  this  point  in  a  southeasterly 
direction  they  crossed  the  Coast  Range  by  the  Grande  Ronde  Pass 
past  Yamhill  and  onward  to  the  Willamette  Mission.  At  the  mis- 
sion. Frost  obtained  cattle.  These  cattle  together  with  some  horses 
owned  by  Smith  were  driven  back  along  the  same  route  that  they 
had  come.  The  entire  trip  consumed  just  thirty-six  days.  Posses- 
sion of  a  herd  of  cattle  is  a  fundamental  necessity  in  the  economic 
upbuilding  of  any  remote  area,  and  Frost's  pioneering  service  in 
introducing  the  first  band  of  cattle  into  the  present  Astoria  region 
should  be  noted.*' 

Ten  years  in  Oregon.  A  final  important  service  to  Oregon  was 
rendered  by  the  Rev.  Frost,  in  collaboration  with  another  "Mission- 
ary to  Oregon,"  the  Rev.  Daniel  Lee.  In  the  fall  of  1843  both 
were  returning  to  the  United  States;  Mr.  Frost  because  of  his  own 

*' Wilkes,  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  IV,  p.  322. 
°*  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  I,  p.  187;  S.  A.  Clarke,  Pioneer  Days  in 
Oregon,  II,  p.  421;  Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  pp.  307,  308. 


176   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

serious  ill  health,  Mr.  Lee  on  account  of  the  ill  health  of  Mrs. 
Lee.  During  the  leisurely  seven  months'  trip  together  they  pre- 
pared a  small  work  on  Oregon,  which  they  called  Ten  Years  in 
Oregon.  This  contemporaneous  source  book  comprises  three  hun- 
dred and  forty-four  pages.  The  earlier  pages,  covering  the  period 
to  1840,  were  written  by  Daniel  Lee.  Praaically  all  of  the  last  half 
of  the  volume  is  the  work  of  Joseph  H.  Frost.  The  value  of  the 
book  is  greatly  enhanced  by  the  faa  that  Frost's  narrative  is  based 
on  a  journal  which  he  kept  during  his  entire  period  of  residence  in 
Oregon. 

Oregon  City.  In  the  distribution  of  the  Lausanne  group  of 
missionaries  at  Fort  Vancouver  on  June  3,  1840,  Rev.  A.  F.  Waller 
was  temporarily  assigned  to  assist  with  the  construction  of  mills 
at  Qiemeketa.  Later  in  this  same  year  Superintendent  Lee  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Waller  to  the  important  Willamette  Falls  Indian 
station,  near  the  present  Oregon  City,  and  about  twelve  miles 
south  of  the  site  of  the  city  of  Portland.  At  Willamette  Falls  was 
the  famous  cataraa  of  the  Willamette  River,  the  finest  water- 
power  site  in  Old  Oregon.  There  was  a  large  Indian  population, 
attraaed  by  the  important  salmon  fishery  at  the  falls. 

In  the  summer  of  1840,  Mr.  Waller  ereaed  a  log  dwelling 
house  "  which  served  both  as  residence  and  mission  store.  It  was 
the  first  dwelling  house  ereaed  in  the  settlement.  Lieutenant 
Wilkes,  a  Willamette  Falls  visitor  on  June  5,  1841,  furnishes  a 
graphic  piaure  of  Rev.  Waller's  pioneer  environment: 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  5  th  we  set  out  for  the  falls  of  the  Willa- 
mette. As  they  are  approached,  the  [Willamette]  river  becomes  much 
narrower;  and  the  banks  which  are  of  trap  rock,  more  precipitous. 
This  river  is  navigable  for  small  vessels  even  at  its  lowest  stage,  as 
high  as  the  mouth  of  the  Klakamus  [Clackamas,}  three  miles  below 
its  falls.  In  the  low  state  of  the  river,  there  is  a  rapid  at  the  Klakamus. 

We  reached  the  falls  about  noon,  where  we  found  the  missionary 
station  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Waller.    The  Hudson  Bay 

'''Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  330.  Jason  Lee  Manuscript 
Collection,  Oregon  Historical  Society  Library,  p.  44. 


LEE'S  PROGRAM  OF  EXPANSION  177 

Company  have  a  trading-post  here,  and  are  packing  fish,  which  the 
Indians  catch  in  great  quantities.  This  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  best 
salmon-fisheries  on  the  river.  .  .  .'® 

Mr.  Waller  and  his  wife  gave  us  a  kind  welcome,  and  insisted  upon 
our  taking  dinner  with  them.  As  they  have  no  servants,  Mrs.  Waller 
prepared  the  dinner,  while  Mr.  Waller  took  care  of  the  out-door 
business.  Though  the  house  was  built  of  rough  materials,  it  was  very 
evident  that  neatness  and  order  prevailed.  Her  management  of  the 
home-made  cooking-stove,  which  stood  in  the  room  claimed  my  ad- 
miration. At  the  same  time  she  made  herself  quite  agreeable;  and 
although  she  had  many,  very  many  things  to  contend  with,  appeared 
quite  satisfied  with  her  lot  and  condition. 

After  we  had  partaken  of  our  dinner,  consisting  of  salmon  and  tea, 
with  bread  and  butter,  Mr.  Waller  took  us  to  see  the  Falls.  On  our 
way  thither,  he  pointed  out  a  log  house  that  had  been  built  by  the 
agent  of  Mr.  Slacum  in  1837  in  order  to  secure  the  right  of  site  or 
mill-privileges.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  have  gone  to  considerable 
expense  in  blasting  the  rock  for  the  mill-race  for  the  same  purpose;  but 
from  appearances,  this  work  has  remained  untouched  for  several  years. 
The  falls  of  Willamette  are  about  twenty  feet  in  height,  and  probably 
offer  the  best  mill-sites  of  any  place  in  the  neighboring  country.  Being 
at  the  head  of  navigation  for  sea-vessels,  and  near  the  great  wheat- 
growing  valley  of  the  Willamette,  it  must  be  a  place  of  great  resort.  A 
Mr.  Moore,  ^*  from  the  Western  states,  whom  I  saw  on  the  Willamette, 
informed  me  that  he  had  taken  possession  of  the  west  side  of  the  falls, 
under  a  purchase  from  an  old  Indian  chief.  Whether  such  titles  will 
be  recognized  by  the  government,  is  already  a  matter  of  speculation  in 
this  country;  and  there  is  much  talk  of  preemption  rights.  .  .  . 

In  a  letter  to  his  brother  in  New  York,  written  from  Willamette 
Falls,  and  dated  April  6,  1842,  Rev.  Waller  gave  an  optimistic 
account  of  the  economic  opportunities  offered  in  his  new  Oregon 
home. 

^^  Wilkes,  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  IV,  pp.  343,  344. 

^"  Robert  Moore  of  the  Peoria  party  of  1839.  Mr.  Moore  took  up  a  claim 
near  the  falls,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Willamette  River.  Mr.  Moore's  original 
claim  was  a  piece  of  land  a  mile  square  up  and  down  the  Willamette,  exactly 
opposite  from  the  site  of  the  present  Oregon  City.  J.  Orin  Oliphant,  "Robert 
Moore  in  Oregon  History,"  Washington  Historical  Quarterly,  XV,  p.  169. 


178    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

You  will  see  by  my  letter  where  I  am  stationed.  This  is,  in  some 
respects,  a  pleasant,  though  laborious  field  of  labor.  This  is,  and  is 
destined  to  be,  the  great  emporium  of  the  interior  of  this  country.  Its 
water  power  for  manufacturing  purposes  is  probably  not  rivaled  in  the 
States;  at  least,  few  and  far  between  are  the  privileges  which  equal 
or  excel  it;  besides,  here  is  an  excellent  salmon  fishery.  As  to  the 
country,  taking  it  all  in  all,  it  is  a  good  farming  and  grazing  country. 
The  winters  are  so  mild  that  cattle  and  horses  do  well  without  feed- 
ing. .  .  .  Produce  of  all  kinds,  except  corn,  does  well  here,  I  believe, 
so  far  as  it  has  been  fairly  tried.  Some  corn  is  raised.  Wheat,  peas, 
and  oats,  I  think,  so  far  as  quality  is  concerned,  cannot  excel  in  any 
country.  Potatoes  are  tolerable,  in  some  parts  excellent.  Indeed,  it  is 
my  candid  conviction,  that  an  industrious  and  economical  man  can 
live  as  well  (fruits  excepted)  and  make  property  as  fast,  as  in  almost 
any  country,  and  far  easier  than  in  any  part  of  the  state  of  New  York, 
where  I  have  lived.  Let  him  bring  with  him  a  few  hundred  dollars 
in  cash,  or  property,  his  farming  utensils,  and  so  forth,  and  settle  on 
one  of  these  most  delightful  plains,  and  the  first  year  he  can  support 
his  family  from  the  soil,  as  he  has  nothing  to  do  but  fence,  plough, 
and  sow,  and  prepare  a  shelter  or  house  for  his  family;  yet  he  will 
have  to  encounter  some  difficulties  incident  to  all  new  countries.*" 

.  .  .  our  mills  are  few  and  far  between  and  not  all  of  the  fixst  order, 
but  rather  multiplying  and  improving;  though  a  good  millwright  is 
very  much  wanted,  as  well  as  apparatus  for  building  mills,  and  a  great 
many  wholesome  settlers,  embracing  some  capitalists,  who  will  open 
trade  with  the  [Sandwich]  islands  and  China,  which  can  be  done  from 
this  coast  with  great  facility.  But,  first  of  all,  our  government  ought  to 
extend  its  jurisdiaion  and  proteaion  over  this  country.  The  state  of 
the  country  in  this  respect  (especially  for  Americans),  as  well  as  in 
respea  to  the  currency,  is  unpleasant.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
seem  determined  to  monopolize  everything  as  long  as  possible;  yet  in 
many  respeas  they  are  quite  accomodating,  at  least  so  far  as  it  is  for 
their  interest.  They  profess  to  claim  many  of  the  best  and  most  valu- 
able parts  of  the  country,  by  putting  up  a  little  hut,  without  inhabitant, 
and  forbid  any  one  settling  in  those  places.  They  made  a  claim  at  the 
falls,  on  the  side  where  I  now  am,  about  twelve  years  since  [1829], 

*"  Alvin  F.  Waller  Letter,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  December  21. 
1842,  XVII,  p.  74. 


LEE'S  PROGRAM  OF  EXPANSION  179 

by  digging  a  short  mill-race,  hewing  a  quantity  of  timber,  and  so 
forth, — a  few  years  since  they  put  up  a  small  house,  and  covered  it 
with  bark.  Last  fall  [of  1841}  an  American  [Felix  Hathaway}  took 
possession  of  a  small  island  in  the  Falls;  but  no  sooner  was  it  known 
at  Fort  Vancouver  than  a  company  of  men  was  sent  off  with  boards  to 
put  up  a  hut,  and  soon  the  governor  of  the  Fort  [Dr.  John  McLough- 
lin}  came  up,  greatly  incensed,  called  the  man  a  pilferer,  and  any 
thing  but  good;  he  however  went  on.  A  cooper  wished  to  build  a 
shop  near  me,  but  was  informed,  by  orders  from  the  Fort,  that  if  he 
built,  his  shop  would  be  torn  down.  He,  however,  went  on  and  built; 
his  shop  still  stands. 

Rev.  Waller  concludes  his  well-written  communication  with 
this  information: 

We  have  an  addition  to  our  family  of  another  daughter  [Julia  Ellen, 
later  Mrs.  C.  C.  Stratton},  born  May  5,  1841.  I  have  written  in  great 
haste,  as  this  is  to  be  off  early  tomorrow  morning.  Besides,  I  have 
plenty  of  company,  a  number  of  men  being  here  to  buy  salmon,  of 
which  I  have  the  care.  Others  are  on  their  way  down  the  river.  Indeed, 
my  house  is  at  times,  as  to  travelers,  more  like  a  public  house  than  a 
Methodist  Preacher's.*^ 

In  a  letter  dated  August  19,  1842,  Rev.  Waller  gives  a  semi- 
humorous  description  of  his  varied  duties: 

What  is  [my}  labor,  and  how  do  [1}  prosper.^  My  labor  has  been  a 
little  of  almost  every  thing.  I  have  been  carpenter  and  joiner,  receiver 
and  forwarder  of  goods,  retail  merchant,  salmon  trader  and  salter,  boat 
and  canoe  maker,  stone  layer,  blacksmith,  farmer,  cooper,  nurse,  and 
physician.  ...  On  Sabbath  I  have  generally  held  three  or  four  meet- 
ings. In  the  morning,  before  breakfast,  go  near  three  miles  to  the 
Clackamas  village,  and  hold  meeting  with  the  Indians;  return,  and  at 
eleven  o'clock  try  to  preach  to  the  whites  at  my  house,  and  hold  a  class 
meeting.  In  the  afternoon  cross  the  river  to  a  little  village;  again  hold 
meeting  with  the  Indians.   Sometimes  I  return  and  talk  to  a  few  who 

'*  Alvin  F.  Waller  Letter,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  December  21, 
1842,  XVII,  p.  74.  Pacific  Christian  Advocate  (Pordand,  Oregon,  1855  to 
date),  December  24,  1890. 


180   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

are  camped  at  certain  seasons  near  me,  and  in  the  evening  hold  prayer 
meeting  at  my  house.  "^ 

McLoughltn  land  claim.  On  November  18,  1842,  Dr.  John 
McLoughlin  sent  his  historic  note  to  Superintendent  Lee  respeaing 
Mr.  Waller's  setting  up  a  private  claim  in  a  seaion  of  land 
preempted  by  Dr.  McLoughlin  in  1829.  This  marked  the  begin- 
ning of  a  legal  contest  between  Mr.  Waller  and  Dr.  McLoughlin 
v^hich  was  settled  through  an  agreement  executed  on  April  4, 
1844.  This  dispute  also  led  to  a  historical  controversy  which  has 
continued  to  the  present  day.^^ 

The  first  church  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Mr.  Waller  originated, 
on  December  31,  1842,  the  movement  that  resulted  in  the  con- 
struaion  in  Willamette  Falls  of  the  first  Methodist  Church  build- 
ing not  only  in  Oregon  but  on  the  entire  western  coast  of  the 
Americas  from  Bering  Strait  to  Cape  Horn.  On  that  date  he  began, 
by  subscription,  the  coUeaion  of  a  building  fund.  On  the  faded 
pages  of  this  old  subscription  book  appears  the  name  of  Jason  Lee; 
his  contribution  was  fifty  dollars,  and  his  name  appears  as  the 
fifteenth  on  the  list  of  the  original  twenty-seven  subscribers.^* 

In  a  letter  begun  on  May  23,  1843,  but  not  completed  until 
the  following  July  31,  Mr.  Waller  portrays  to  a  New  York  friend 
the  march  of  events  in  his  vigorous  young  community: 

My  numerous  calls  of  visitors  take  much  of  my  time.  Scarcely  a  day 
passes  without  bringing  with  it  one  or  more  visitors,  so  that  we  seldom 
take  a  meal  alone,  and  sometimes  a  half  a  dozen  are  with  us  for  a  night, 
or  more.  ...  As  there  are  no  public  houses,  a  stranger  is  generally 
made  welcome  at  any  house  when  night  comes  on  him.  If  there  is  not 
a  house,  he  can  make  himself  welcome  in  the  best  spot  of  ground  he 
can  select  in  the  plain  or  wood.  If  he  has  fireworks  he  can  kindle  a 
fire.  And  if  from  the  place  he  left  he  was  careful  to  take  something 
to  eat,  he  can  make  the  best  supper  his  pocket  affords,  and  then  roll 

^' Alvin  F.  Waller  to  Fuller  Atchinson,  Albion,  Michigan,  Christian  Advo- 
cate, November  8,  1843,  XVIII,  p.  50. 

^^  See  Appendix  III  for  documents  on  Lee's  relation  to  the  "Waller- 
McLoughlin  land  claim  controversy. 

'*  H.  K.  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  p.  255. 


LEE'S  PROGRAM  OF  EXPANSION  181 

himself  in  his  blanket,  and  sleep  as  quietly  as  the  circumstances  will 
allow.  If  you  are  so  fortunate  as  to  find  a  house,  you  are  furnished  by 
the  inmates  with  the  best  the  house  affords,  and  you  can  receive  it 
thankfully,  because  it  is  freely  presented.  Your  supper  consists  of  tea, 
coffee,  milk,  or  water,  bread,  sometimes  butter,  beef,  venison,  pork, 
prepared  generally  by  the  hands  of  the  native  women.  You  sometimes 
have  vegetables.  Most  in  the  country  are  passionately  fond  of  tea  and 
coffee.  My  own  views  and  praaice  are  yet  unchanged  in  reference  to  tea 
and  coffee.  I  do  not  use  either,  at  home  or  abroad.  I  however,  keep 
both  for  those  who  do  use  them  which  with  the  trimmings  make  no 
small  part  in  my  expenditures.^^ 

This  is  Mr.  Waller's  description  of  what  the  wayfarer's  bed  was 
likely  to  be  in  the  Oregon  City  of  1843: 

Your  bed  is  composed  of  a  few  skins  and  a  blanket  on  the  floor.  A 
bag  of  wheat,  your  saddle  or  valice  and  coat,  will  constitute  your  pillow. 
I  speak  here  more  particularly  of  these  settlers  who  have  for  wives  native 
women,  of  which  there  are  not  a  few.  But  there  are  exceptions  among 
them;  some  of  them  are  doing  quite  well  in  housewifery  considering 
their  circumstances.^® 

Rev.  Waller  furnishes  this  glimpse  of  his  family  life  and  of 
Mrs.  Waller's  servant  problem: 

My  general  health  is  as  good  as  in  the  States,  and  as  is  that  of  my 
family.  The  labor  of  my  wife,  however,  wears  upon  her,  and  at  times 
she  is  much  depressed  in  spirit  and  not  a  little  discouraged.  She  some- 
times feels  that  she  would  gladly  return  to  the  bosom  of  those  friends 
with  whom  she  formerly  associated.  I  have  been  obliged  to  hire  a 
Hawaiian  at  ten  dollars  per  month  to  assist  in  household  affairs,  as  no 
female  help  can  be  got  here.  This  I  have  to  pay  in  addition  to  paying 
his  passage  to  and  from  this  country.  He  milks  my  cows,  washes,  fetches 
water,  cuts  wood,  and  works  some  in  the  garden.  It  is,  however,  diffi- 
cult to  get  him  some  days  to  do  enough  to  pay  his  board.  My  wife 
cannot  do  all  that  is  necessary  to  be  done  in  this  place,  and  this  is  the 
best  help  we  can  get. 

"^Alvin  F.  "Waller  to  Fuller  Atchinson,  Christian  Advocate,  July  3,  1844, 
XVIII,  p.  186. 
^Ubid. 


182    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Mr.  Waller's  reference  to  the  Oregon  Institute,  in  whose  later 
history  he  was  to  have  so  prominent  a  part,  is  of  special  interest. 
Waller  Hall  to-day  perpetuates  the  name  of  the  man  who  wrote 
these  lines  to  a  New  York  State  friend  in  1843: 

I  want  more  than  anything  else  a  chance  to  educate  and  Christianize 
my  children.  And  in  order  to  do  this  I  have  ventured  to  pledge  two 
hundred  dollars  for  the  erection  of  an  institution  of  learning  in  this 
country,  entitled  the  Oregon  Institute  [later  Willamette  University]. 
The  frame  is  now  up  for  the  main  building  and  is  being  enclosed.^' 

The  Umpqua  project.  The  Umpqua  project  had  been  conceived 
by  Lee  in  the  late  winter  of  1837.^^  At  that  time  he  had  visited 
the  region,  and  although  unable  to  make  detailed  personal  obser- 
vations, had  gathered  information  which  led  him  to  beheve  that 
a  mission  station  could  be  established  there.  Before  making  a  final 
decision,  however.  Superintendent  Lee  desired  to  make  a  personal 
investigation  of  this  wild  region  and  of  the  Umpqua  Valley 
Indians  inhabiting  it.'" 

At  the  general  missionary  conference  at  Fort  Vancouver  in 
1840,  the  establishment  of  this  mission  was  allotted  to  Rev. 
Gustavus  Hines  and  Rev.  W.  W.  Kone.  Accordingly,  Jason  Lee, 
Gustavus  Hines,  Dr.  Elijah  P.  White,  and  an  Indian  guide,  whom 
they  called  "The  Captain,"  left  the  Willamette  Mission  on  August 
18,  1840,  to  make  a  tour  of  the  Umpqua  Valley.*"  They  traveled 
on  horseback,  ''the  horses  alternately  galloping  and  walking." 
Their  provisions  were  transported  on  pack  animals.  Traveling 
southward,  the  missionaries  passed  the  noonday  with  friends  at 
Chemeketa  "Mill"  below  Willamette.  Their  course  now  lay 
through  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  fertile  valleys  in  America. 
About  sunset  on  August  21,  1840,  they  reached  Elk  Creek,  a  small 

"Alvin  F.  Waller  to  Fuller  Atchinson,  Christian  Advocate,  July  3,  1844, 
XVIII,  p.  186. 

*®  "Oregon  Mission  Record  Book,"  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XVIII, 
pp.  258,  259. 

""  "Jason  Lee's  Journal  of  Umpqua  Exploration,"  Christian  Advocate  and 
Journal,  August  25,  1841,  XVI,  p.  5. 

***  Hines,  Missionary  Expedition  to  Oregon,  p.  94. 


LEE'S  PROGRAM  OF  EXPANSION  183 

tributary  of  the  Umpqua  River,  and  pitched  their  camp.  The  next 
day  the  party  crossed  and  recrossed  Elk  Creek,  but  always  pushing 
forward  on  their  southward  course.  At  two  o'clock  that  afternoon 
they  reached  the  mouth  of  Elk  Creek  in  the  vicinity  of  the  second 
or  later  Fort  Umpqua.  This  fort,  the  only  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
post  established  south  of  the  Columbia  River,  consisted  of  "three 
or  four  little  log  huts  built  on  three  sides  of  a  square,  and  cov- 
ered with  cedar  bark."  "  It  was  situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
river  about  three  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Elk  Creek,  and  about 
forty  miles  from  the  Pacific  Ocean.**  J.  B.  Gagnier,  the  French- 
Canadian  interpreter  assigned  to  this  post  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  was  in  charge.  He  sent  a  canoe  across  the  river  for  the 
missionaries,  and  upon  their  arrival  at  the  fort  received  them 
hospitably. 

The  party  remained  at  Fort  Umpqua  *'  for  several  days.  By 
shrewd  questioning  and  careful  observations.  Superintendent  Lee 
acquired  much  useful  information  concerning  the  wild  Umpqua 
country.  On  August  26,  Dr.  White  and  the  Indian  guide  returned 
to  the  Willamette.  Jason  Lee  and  Gustavus  Hines  proceeded  to 
the  coast  by  descending  the  Umpqua  River  to  its  mouth.  Jason  Lee 
felt  it  necessary  to  make  this  inspeaion  as  the  greater  part  of  the 
Indian  population  of  the  Umpqua  Valley  resided  there.  He  also 
wished  to  examine  the  mouth  of  the  Umpqua  River  and  to  observe 
its  possibilities  as  a  harbor. 

The  French  trader,  Gagnier,  warned  Jason  Lee  of  the  serious 
dangers  attending  an  expedition  by  so  small  a  party  of  white  men 
among  the  cruel  and  treacherous  Umpqua  tribes,  and  reminded 
him  of  Jedediah  Smith's  adventure  near  the  mouth  of  the  Umpqua 

*^  Hines,  Missionary  Expedition  to  Oregon,  p.  99. 

*^  Bancroft,  History  of  the  Northwest  Coast  (San  Francisco,  1884),  II, 
p.  521;  Elwood  Evans,  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  2  vols.,  (Portland, 
Oregon,  1889),  I,  p.  30;  Jason  Lee's  Journal  of  Umpqua  Tour,  Christian 
Advocate  and  Journal,  August  25,  1841,  XVI,  p.  5. 

*^  Leslie  M.  Scott,  editor,  John  "Work's  Journey  from  Fort  Vancouver  to 
Umpqua  River  and  Return  in  1834,  Oregon  Historical  Society  Quarterly, 
XXIV,  p.  257.   Describes  location  of  later  Fort  Umpqua. 

H.  O.  Lang,  (ed.)  History  of  Willamette  Valley  (Portland,  1885),  p.  201. 
Desaibes  location  of  the  earlier  Fort  Umpqua. 


184   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

River.**  In  vain  he  tried  to  persuade  Lee  to  give  up  his  perilous 
plan.  In  his  journal,  Jason  Lee  reports  the  following  conversation 
with  the  Hudson's  Bay  trader:  "I  said  I  was  not  afraid  of  the  In- 
dians molesting  me.  True,'  said  he;  'but  there  may  be  great 
danger  where  there  is  no  fear.'  "  *^  Accompanied  by  Gagnier's 
Indian  wife  (who  was  related  to  an  Umpqua  chief ),*°  Lee  and 
Hines  set  out  in  a  canoe  down  the  turbulent  Umpqua  River.  Their 
Indian  guides  and  canoe  men  expertly  guided  their  frail  vessel 
along  the  serpentine,  rocky  channel  of  the  river.  It  was  a  wild, 
forbidding  country.  The  river  wound  its  way  in  a  deep  gorge 
between  heavily  wooded  mountains.  On  the  evening  of  August  26, 
the  missionaries  made  their  camp  below  the  last  rapid  on  the 
river,  and,  surrounded  by  Indians,  made  an  excellent  supper  of 
roasted  salmon  which  Mrs.  Gagnier  prepared  for  them. 

Before  noon  the  next  day  they  came  within  sight  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  On  the  beach,  near  the  largest  of  the  three  Umpqua  vil- 
lages at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  Jason  Lee  pitched  his  tent.  Messen- 
gers were  sent  to  the  village  to  announce  the  arrival  of  the 
missionaries.  "Nearly  all,  old  and  young,  in  a  short  time  as- 
sembled," wrote  Jason  Lee.*'  The  Indians  seated  themselves  in  a 
semicircle  on  the  sand  before  the  missionary  tent.  As  the  chief 
was  ill,  the  second  in  rank  addressed  the  missionaries.  Jason  Lee 
records  that  he  "came  forward  with  a  quick  step;  and  when  within 
three  steps,  stopped  short,  direaly  in  front  of  me,  and  commenced 
his  speech.  .   .   ."  *® 

Great  Chief:  We  are  very  much  pleased  with  our  country.  We  love 
this  world,  and  desire  to  live  a  long  while  in  it.  We  very  much  desire 
to  become  old  men  before  we  die.  It  is  true  we  have  killed  many 
people,  but  we  have  never  killed  any  but  bad  people.  Many  lies  have 
been  told  about  us.  We  have  been  called  a  bad  people,  and  we  are  glad 

**  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  I,  p.  194. 

*  ^  Lee's  Journal  of  Umpqua  Tour,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  August 
25,  1841,  XVI,  p.  5. 
^Ubid. 
*'  Ibid. 

^nbid. 


LEE'S  PROGRAM  OF  EXPANSION  185 

you  have  come  to  see  us  for  yourselves.  All  the  white  men  we  have 
seen  before  came  to  get  our  beavers ;  none  ever  came  to  instruct  us.  We 
are  glad  to  see  you.  We  want  to  throw  away  our  bad  things  and  become 
good.'' 

Several  other  Indian  chiefs  addressed  the  missionaries  in  succes- 
sion, according  to  their  rank.  Mrs.  Gagnier  acted  as  interpreter. 

While  they  were  visiting  among  these  Indans  an  amusing  in- 
cident occurred.  An  Indian  who  had  seen  Lee  at  Fort  Umpqua 
hurried  to  the  coast  and  informed  the  natives  there  that  Lee  was 
a  great  medicine  man;  and  that  he  had  a  medicine  bag,  by  releas- 
ing the  contents  of  which  he  could  destroy  them  all.  This  so-called 
medicine  bag  proved  to  be  Lee's  patent  shot  pouch.  The  pouch 
excited  great  fear  and  curiosity  among  the  Indians,  and  but  for 
the  protecting  presence  of  Mrs.  Gagnier,  the  situation  might  have 
resulted  in  the  Indians  attacking  Lee.  However,  by  keeping  a 
bright  fire  burning  all  night  and  by  faithfully  watching  over  their 
tent,  this  Indian  woman  probably  saved  the  lives  of  the  two 
missionaries.^" 

The  next  day,  after  again  preaching  to  the  Indians,  Lee  inspeaed 
the  country  in  that  vicinity.  That  his  opinion  was  unfavorable  may 
be  gathered  from  these  keen  commentaries  on  the  forbidding 
topography  of  the  Umpqua  Valley.  In  his  journal  entry  for 
August  28,  1840,  he  wrote: 

There  is  a  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  which  I  judge  no  ship  can 
pass.  The  immense  hills  or  mountains,  which  close  in  so  closely  upon 
the  river  as  to  leave  it  but  just  room  to  pass,  are  covered  with  dense 
forests  to  the  water's  edge.  The  whole  region  seems  gloomy  and  lone- 
some ;  and  everything  you  see  seems  to  impress  one  with  the  idea,  that, 
in  this  dismal  region,  civilization  its  el  j  would  run  wild;  and  that,  in 
order  to  tame  these  savage  men,  whose  natures  and  habits  are  in  exaa 
keeping  with  every  thing  around,  you  must  remove  them  to  a  more 
genial  soil.'^^ 

**  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  p.  224. 
^"7^/^.,  p.  225.  ^ 

''^  Lee's  Journal  of  Umpqua  Tour,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  August 
25,  1841,  XVI,  p.  5. 


186   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Returning  to  Fort  Umpqua  on  August  29,  1840,  Lee  and  Hines 
remained  overnight  as  guests  of  the  hospitable  Mr.  Gagnier.  The 
next  day,  with  an  Umpqua  Indian  as  guide,  the  two  missionaries 
set  out  on  a  tour  of  the  Umpqua  Valley  proper.  Ascending  steep 
hills,  crossing  deep  streams,  and  traversing  difficult  trails,  they 
found  themselves,  on  September  3,  once  more  on  Elk  Creek,  at 
the  spot  where  they  had  encamped  on  their  outgoing  journey. 
Jason  Lee  here  makes  the  penetrating  observation:  ''Good  land, 
but  a  great  scarcity  of  timber.  The  only  access  to  this  is  through 
the  Willamette.  Hence  this  will  not  settle  till  that  is  filled  up."  " 

While  in  the  Umpqua  Valley  Lee  met  very  few  Indians.  Those 
that  he  did  meet,  although  poor,  were  superior  to  those  inhabiting 
the  Willamette  Valley.  Retracing  their  steps  from  Elk  Creek,  Lee 
and  Hines  reached  the  Willamette  Valley  Mission  on  September  7, 
1840,  after  an  absence  of  three  weeks. 

^  ^  Lee's  Journal  of  Umpqua  Tour,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  August 
25,  1841,  XVI,  p.  5. 


CHAPTER  XI 
PROGRESS  IN  1841  AND  1842 

Removal  of  Mission  to  Chemeketa,  1841.  Pausing  for  a  moment 
to  review  as  a  whole  the  plan  thus  outlined  in  the  assignment  of 
missionaries  to  their  posts,  we  can  begin  to  realize  the  farsighted 
comprehensiveness  of  Jason  Lee's  vision.  He  was  not  building 
for  a  day.  With  keen  appreciation  of  the  future  of  this  country  in 
which  he  found  himself,  he  realized  that  the  most  vital  work  of 
the  missionary  was  the  nurture  and  moral  strengthening  of  the 
white  people  who  were  to  be  its  eventual  rulers.  Having  occupied, 
so  far  as  his  resources  permitted,  the  key  points  in  a  widespread 
area,  Jason  Lee  now  turned  to  the  prosecution  of  plans,  long  well 
thought  out,  for  the  headquarters  of  the  mission  work. 

As  early  as  the  summer  of  1840,  Superintendent  Lee  had  begun 
the  removal  of  his  mission  center  from  its  original  site,  known  as 
"Old  Mission,"  to  Chemeketa,  ten  miles  south  of  the  parent  mis- 
sion station.  The  surroundings  of  Chemeketa  were  attractive.  To 
the  east  a  broad  forest  extended  to  the  foothills  of  the  Cascade 
Range.  To  the  west  the  Chemeketa  Plain  stretched  to  the 
banks  of  the  Willamette  River.  Across  the  river,  still  west- 
ward, could  be  seen  the  hills  of  the  present  Polk  County.  To  the 
south  and  east  rose  the  faint  outlines  of  the  Waldo  hills.  Through 
the  mission  site  flowed  a  small  stream,  known  as  Mill  Creek.  ^ 

The  first  structure  was  ereaed  on  the  bank  of  Mill  Creek,  and 

housed  under  one  roof  a  saw  and  a  grist  mill.^    The  machinery 

for  these  mills  had  been  brought  from  the  East  on  the  Lausanne, 

and  in  its  transportation  from  Fort  Vancouver  to  the  new  mission 

^  Frances  Fuller  Victor,  All  Over  Oregon  and  Washington  (San  Francisco, 
1872),  p.  168. 

^  See  also  p.  254. 

187 


188   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

site  the  missionaries  experienced  serious  difficulty.  The  frail 
Chinook  canoes  could  carry  only  light  loads  and  it  was  necessary 
to  make  many  trips  back  and  forth.  The  proper  assembling  of 
the  mill  machinery  presented  the  next  problem.  J.  L.  Parrish,  a 
member  of  the  Lausanne  party,  entertainingly  relates  the  difficul- 
ties encountered  by  the  preacher-mechanics  who  undertook  to  as- 
semble the  mill  machinery.  The  upper  and  lower  millstones, 
according  to  Parrish,  were  at  first  incorrealy  set,  so  that  when  they 
were  set  in  motion  they  threw  out  the  wheat  instead  of  grinding 
it.^  The  water  power  for  the  mill  was  supplied  by  means  of  a 
horizontal  wheel  placed  across  Mill  Creek.*  During  the  summer  it 
was  necessary,  because  of  low  water,  to  suspend  milling  operations. 
When  in  operation,  however,  the  grist  mill's  output  was  approxi- 
mately ten  bushels  of  flour  a  day. 

Upon  the  completion  of  the  sawmill,  work  was  begun  on  the 
building  for  the  Indian  Manual  Labor  School.  Plans  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  new  Indian  school  building  at  Chemeketa  had  been  made 
during  the  year  1840.  In  May,  1841,  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  selea  a  site  for  the  school  building  during  the  first  annual 
meeting  of  the  Methodist  Missionary  Society.  A  suitable  location 
was  agreed  upon  and  building  operations  were  begun.  The  pro- 
posed building  plan  called  for  an  expenditure  of  about  $10,000. 
Jason  Lee  obtained  the  sanaion  of  his  Mission  Board  for  the 
enterprise  and  estimated  the  probable  cost.^  An  imposing,  three- 
story,  wooden  frame  building  was  ereaed,  seventy-one  feet  long 
and  twenty-four  feet  wide.  Its  capacity  was  enlarged  by  an  addi- 
tion of  two  wings,  each  twenty-four  feet  square,  situated  at  the 
rear  of  the  building.**  A  small  square  belfry  tower  ornamented 
the  top  of  this  pioneer  struaure.  Building  was  costly  and  pro- 
gressed slowly.    In  1844,  the  schoolhouse  had  been  only  partly 

^  J.  L.  Parrish,  Oregon  Anecdotes,  MS.,  pp.  10,  26. 
*  Wilkes,  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  IV,  p.  353. 
"  Gustavus  Hines,  Oregon  and  Its  Institutions,  p.  159. 
'  Diary  of  Rev.   George  Gary,   Oregon  Historical   Quarterly,   XXIV,   pp. 
86,  87. 


PROGRESS  IN  1841  AND  1842  189 

completed.  In  a  diary  entry  of  June  11,  1844,  Superintendent 
George  Gary,  Jason  Lee's  successor,  gives  this  clear  description  of 
the  Indian  school  at  that  time: 

A  noble  edifice  in  appearance,  it  is  not  finished,  the  cornice  is  not 
on,  weatherboards  not  on;  it  will  doubtless  cost  more  than  two  thou- 
sand dollars.  It  will  take  more  than  two  thousand  dollars  to  finish  it. 
It  is  decaying  from  the  want  of  some  more  labor  on  it.  It  has  probably 
cost  the  Mission  now  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  dollars.' 

After  the  removal  of  the  school  to  Chemeketa  there  was  an 
alarming  decrease  in  the  enrollment,  owing  to  the  rapid  decline  of 
the  Indian  population.  In  1844,  the  number  of  Indian  children 
in  attendance  was  only  twenty-seven,  and  many  of  them  were  most 
irregular  in  their  attendance.  Rev.  Gary,  convinced  that  the  school 
had  no  future,  decided  to  close  it  on  July  26,  1844.  He  offered  to 
sell  it  to  the  trustees  of  the  Oregon  Institute  for  the  trifling  sum 
of  four  thousand  dollars,  an  amount  less  than  half  its  aaual  cost. 
Two  days  later  the  transfer  of  title  was  completed.  Jason  Lee's 
Indian  Manual  Labor  Training  School,  after  an  existence  of  nearly 
a  decade,  was  absorbed  by  the  "Oregon  Institute,  and  its  career 
was  at  an  end."  ^ 

First  Protestant  parsonage.  By  the  close  of  the  year  1841,  a  third 
building  the  minister's  new  residence,  called  the  "parson- 
age," had  been  ereaed  on  Chemeketa  Plain.  This  first  residence 
built  at  Chemeketa,  and  the  first  Protestant  parsonage  in  Old 
Oregon,  was  for  a  number  of  years  regarded  as  the  most  attraaive 
dwelling  house  in  the  Oregon  country.  It  was  situated  about  forty 
rods  from  the  Indian  Manual  Labor  School.®  Typically  New  Eng- 
land in  architecture,  the  severity  of  its  lines  was  relieved  by  the 
long  verandas  extending  across  the  entire  front  of  the  first  and 

'  Diary  of  Rev.  George  Gary,   Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,   XXIV,  pp. 
93-95. 

®  Hines,  Oregon  and  Its  Intitutions,  pp.  160,  l6l. 

*  Diary  of  Rev.  George  Gary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XXIV,  p.  90. 


190   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

second  stories/ °  while  white  paint  and  green  blinds  at  the  windows 
gave  a  cheery,  homelike  air/*  This  historic  residence,  somewhat 
altered  in  appearance  and  used  for  a  home,  still  stands  on  Broad- 
way in  North  Salem. 

Mission  summer  tour.  Upon  his  return  to  the  Willamette  Valley 
from  his  tour  of  the  Umpqua  River  region,  Mr.  Lee  found  several 
members  of  the  mission  family  seriously  ill.  Mrs.  Lee  was  in  a 
dangerous  condition  owing  to  an  attack  of  the  prevailing  malaria.*" 
Although  she  slowly  recovered  from  this  illness,  Mrs.  Lee  never 
again  enjoyed  vigorous  health.  The  unusually  severe  winter  of 
1840-1841  proved  to  be  a  trying  one  for  her  and  for  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Willamette  Mission  family. 

Missionary  hardships.  In  her  letter  of  March  11,  1841,  to 
Osmon  C.  Baker,  Mrs.  Lee  makes  a  feeling  reference  to  the  trials 
experienced  by  the  little  missionary  company  during  the  preced- 
ing winter  at  Old  Mission: 

Our  worthy  and  much  loved  brother  Whitcomb,  is  now  swinging 
between  life  and  death.  Since  the  departure  of  Brother  Shepard  [died 
January  1,  1840],  he  has  had  the  care  of  the  male  department  of  our 
school,  excepting  in  school  hours — a  duty  which  he  seems  well  qualified 
to  perform. 

[Mrs.  David  Leslie}  continued  very  feeble  during  the  summer  [of 
1840],  but  we  still  clung  to  the  hope  that  the  Lord  would  raise  her 
up;  but  he  had  not  so  designed.  In  the  month  of  December  [1840] 
she  began  slowly  to  decline,  and  continued  to  do  so  until  the  latter 
part  of  January  [1841],  when  she  was  attacked  with  the  dysentary. 

You  can  well  imagine  the  effea  this  disease  would  have  on  one  so 
much  reduced  by  previous  sickness;  but  her  suflFerings  were  nearly  at 
an  end,  nature  was  soon  exhausted,  and  the  mortal  scene  was  closed 
with  her  on  the  15  th  of  February  [1841].  Mine  was  the  melancholy 
privilege  to  attend  her  in  her  last  moments,  and  to  perform  for  her  the 
last  sad  offices  which  friendship  diaates,  and  humanity  requires.    She 

^  °  This  house  with  additions  still  stands  in  North  Salem.  Letter  from  W.  T. 
Rigdon,  Salem,  July  9,  1929.  Lee's  house  near  "the  Mill"  is  often  incorrealy 
called  the  Parsonage. 

^^Atwood,  The  Conquerors,  p.   169- 

**  Jason  Lee's  Journal,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  August  25,  1841, 
XVI,  p.  5. 


PROGRESS  IN  1841  AND  1842  191 

viewed  the  last  enemy  as  he  approached  with  composure,  took  leave 
of  her  family  and  commended  them  to  God.  .  .  .^* 

On  the  day  Mrs.  Leslie  died,  Jason  Lee  wrote  her  husband  a 
letter,  hitherto  unpublished,  which  reveals  the  spirit  of  neighbor- 
liness  and  kindness  that  pervaded  the  little  settlement,  the  primi- 
tive pioneer  conditions  that  prevailed,  and  the  high  regard  Jason 
Lee  felt  for  his  colleague,  David  Leslie: 

Mission  House  Feb.  15,  1841 
My  Dear  Bro. 

It  is  with  mingled  emotions,  that  I  take  my  pen  to  address  you,  on  a 
subjea,  upon  which,  in  this  hour  of  severest  trial,  sympathy,  and  per- 
haps reason,  would  diaate  silence. 

But  strong  desire,  (whatever  may  be  its  origin)  has  prevailed  and  I 
trust  you  will  pardon  me,  when  I  say  that  it  would  be  exceedingly  grati- 
fying to  my  feelings,  to  have  sister  Leslie's  remains,  deposited  in  the 
same  yard,  and  along  side  of  my  own  Dear  departed  Companion's,  and 
Bro.  Shepard's.  All!  all,  in  this  House  join  me,  in  this  desire,  and 
several  others  that  I  have  conversed  with. 

Should  the  River  encroach;  which  perhaps  may  never  be,  all  can  be 
removed  at  the  same  time.  Should  you  continue  in  your  present  appoint- 
ment, and  the  Mssion  go  on  here  as  anticipated,  it  will  be  very  desir- 
able, that  you  should  be  located  on  this  side,  and  in  that  case  you 
would  yourself,  perhaps,  prefer  that  your  Dear  Wife  should  be  buried 
here.  Now  My  Dear  Bro.  after  having  thus  stated  my  feelings,  I  am 
prepared  to  be  perfectly  satisfied,  whether  my  desires  are  met  or  not. 

Do  not  allow  what  I  have  said,  to  influence  you,  in  the  least,  against 
your  own  wishes,  for  you  may  rest  assured  that  no  one  wishes  to  have 
his  desires  gratified  at  the  expense  of  yours.  I  have  written,  supposing 
that  you  had  little  preference  in  reference  to  the  place,  if  I  am  mistaken, 
you  will  not  let  what  I  have  said  have  the  least  influence. 

Should  you  conclude  to  bury  on  this  side,  I  would  say  we  have  plenty 
large  canoes,  and  all  can  be  accomplished  without  difficulty. 

With  best  wishes,  and  strong  prayers,  for  You  and  Yours,  I  am 

Yours  Truly 

Jason  Lee. 

*'Mrs.  Jason  Lee  to  Osmon  C.  Baker,  Z ion's  Herald,  September  14,  1842, 
XIII,  p.  146. 


192    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

P.  S.  We  had  neither  shovel  or  spade  here,  and  Dick  has  gone  to 
M.  Caddon's  [John  McCaddon's]  after  one. 

Should  you  conclude  to  bury  here,  write  a  line,  by  the  Bearer,  and 
we  will  see  that  the  grave  is  prepared.   J.  L. 

P.  S.  Should  you  bury  here,  it  would,  I  think,  be  best  to  have  the 
Funeral  here, 

J.  L.» 
Rev.  David  Leslie 

Cold  Spring 

A  summer  tour,  1841.  During  the  following  summer  of  1841 
Superintendent  Lee  made  an  extended  tour,  which  included  visits 
to  the  Clatsop  and  The  Dalles  Indian  Mission  stations.  In  the 
hope  that  a  long  and  leisurely  canoe  voyage  would  be  an  effeaive 
faaor  in  restoring  impaired  health,  Mrs.  Lee  accompanied  him, 
also  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  L.  Whitcomb,  with  the  two  Whitcomb  chil- 
dren. ^°  At  Sauvie's  Island,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Willamette,  a 
distinguished  visitor  unexpeaedly  paid  them  a  call.  Lieutenant 
Charles  Wilkes,  of  the  United  States  Navy.  Wilkes  report  of  this 
meeting  is  as  follows: 

Before  night  [of  June  4,  1841]  passed  the  encampment  of  the  Rev. 
Jason  Lee,  principal  of  the  Methodist  Mission  in  Oregon,  who  was  on 
his  way  to  Clatsop,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  We  stopped  with 
him  for  an  hour.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Whitwell  [Whitcomb],  and  two  or  three  children.  Their  encampment 
was  close  to  the  river,  and  consisted  of  two  small  tents.  Mr.  Lee  gave 
us  a  warm  invitation  to  visit  the  settlement  on  the  Willamette,  thus 
forestalling  our  intentions  to  do  so.^^ 

At  Clatsop,  the  Lees  and  Whitcombs  were  received  with  cordi- 
ality by  the  Frosts.  In  that  lonely  Clatsop  region  in  1841,  there 
were  few  white  people,  and  they  were  very  welcome.  The  mis- 
sionaries. Frost  and  Kone,  with  Solomon  H.  Smith  and  Calvin 

^  *  Lee  to  David  Leslie,  Oregon  Historical  Society,  Manusaipt  Collection, 
pp.  6,  7. 

^^  Mrs.  Jason  Lee  to  Osmon  C.  Baker,  Zion's  Herald,  March  23,  1842. 
"Wilkes,  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  IV,  p.  341. 


PROGRESS  IN  1841  AND  1842  193 

Tibbets,  were  the  only  white  settlers.  The  Frosts  inhabited  a  one- 
story  frame  house,  containing  three  rooms.  The  surroundings  were 
extremely  pleasant.  A  young  spruce  and  pine  grove  provided  a 
healthful  situation.  Mr.  Kone  resided  about  four  miles  away, 
where  he  was  cultivating  a  tract  of  land  and  guarding  a  herd  of 
cattle.  "^^  Before  leaving  headquarters,  Lee  had  ordered  sawed 
lumber  to  be  sent  down  to  Clatsop  from  Vancouver  to  be  used  in 
the  construaion  of  a  frame  dwelling  house  for  Mr.  Kone  and  his 
family  on  this  traa  of  land.  A  carpenter,  W.  H.  Willson,  was  sent 
from  Willamette  to  build  it.""^  The  only  other  inhabitants  of  the 
Clatsop  region  were  the  worthless  and  peculiarly  degraded  Clatsop 
Indians.  Frost  in  his  Ten  Years  in  Oregon  records  the  following 
discouraging  incident  in  connection  with  religious  services  held  for 
them  by  Mr.  Lee  and  himself:  "One  of  the  head  men,"  wrote 
Frost,  "said,  when  requested  to  attend  preaching,  that  he  under- 
stood how  to  steal,  and  that  was  enough  for  him  to  know."  ^^ 

After  a  stay  of  about  two  weeks,  tihe  Lees  continued  their  jour- 
ney, but  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whitcomb  remained  at  Clatsop,  occupying 
as  their  temporary  residence  the  cabin  of  Calvin  Tibbets.^"  As- 
cending the  Columbia  by  canoe,  Superintendent  and  Mrs.  Lee 
arrived  home  in  late  June,  1841. 

^'Wilkes,  op.  cit.,  p.  322. 

*^  Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  305. 

^^  Ibid.  The  hopelessly  degraded  condition  of  these  Clatsop  Indians  is 
authoritatively  revealed  in  a  letter  by  James  Birnie,  the  Hudson's  Bay  agent  at 
Fort  George,  to  Daniel  Lee: 

Fort  George,  Feb.  27,  1840. 

My  Dear  Sir, — ^The  Indians  about  this  quarter  are  the  most  abandoned  and 
profligate  set  of  people  you  will  find  on  the  Columbia.  Their  numbers  have 
been  on  the  decrease  for  the  last  20  years.  The  causes  are  venerea,  abortions, 
and  infanticide.  Both  men  and  women  think  nothing  of  destroying  their 
ofi"spring.  A  case  of  this  kind  happened  the  other  day.  After  the  child  was 
born,  the  father  declared  that  it  was  not  his,  and  ordered  the  mother  to  throw 
it  into  the  river,  which  she  did  without  thinking  any  more  about  it. 

The  number  of  the  Chinooks  about  here  last  year  were  as  follows:  75  men, 
88  women,  69  children,  and  58  slaves.  The  Clatsops  are  about  the  same  num- 
ber, but  the  Killimuks  are  more  numerous.  There  are  other  small  tribes  in 
the  vicinity.    I  am,  &c.,  James  Birnie. 

Quoted  in  H.  K.  W.  Perkins'  Journal,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal, 
October  14,   1840,  XV,  p.  29. 

^  °  Lee  and  Frost,  op.  cit.,  p.  306. 


194   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OBEGON 

During  this  busy  summer,  Lee  performed  heavy  manual  labor 
on  the  mission  farm.  He,  himself,  later  recorded  that  during  the 
harvest  season  of  1841  he  "took  the  cradle  for  16  days."  "  From 
August  25  to  September  20,  1841,  Jason  and  Mrs.  Lee  were  the 
honored  guests  of  the  families  of  Daniel  Lee,  H.  K.  W.  Perkins, 
and  Mr.  Brewer  at  The  Dalles  Mission.  As  a  special  mark  of 
courtesy  they  were  given  the  use  of  Daniel  Lee's  chamber.  Every 
consideration  was  shown  Mrs.  Lee,  who  continued  to  experience 
ill  health.  During  this  interval,  also,  Jason  Lee  suffered  a  severe 
attack  of  malaria.*^ 

In  the  early  autumn,  Jason  and  Mrs.  Lee  returned  to  the  Willa- 
mette station.  It  was  a  sad  farewell.  On  the  day  of  their  departure 
The  Dalles  Mission  family  escorted  them  to  their  canoe,  which  was 
moored  on  the  bank  of  the  Columbia  about  a  half  mile  from  the 
mission  house.  Mrs.  Lee  was  seated  on  horseback  and  Daniel  Lee 
walked  at  her  side.  Upon  reaching  the  Columbia  River,  he  helped 
her  into  the  frail  craft.  As  The  Dalles  missionaries  watched  the 
rapidly  receding  vessel,  they  said  one  to  the  other,  "She  will  meet 
us  here  no  more."  *' 

Willamette  University  {Oregon  Institute).  On  Oaober  25, 
1839,  the  Lausanne  passengers  celebrated  the  first  centennial  of 
Methodism.  This  can  properly  be  designated  as  the  first  event  in 
the  history  of  Willamette  University.  After  the  close  of  a  sermon 
delivered  by  Gustavus  Hines,  six  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  was 
contributed  toward  the  founding  of  an  educational  institution  for 
white  children  in  Oregon.^* 

The  next  important  step  in  the  development  of  Willamette  Uni- 
versity was  the  founding  of  the  Oregon  Institute  at  Salem  in  1842. 
The  first  meeting,  to  formulate  plans  for  the  proposed  school,  was 
held  at  Jason  Lee's  residence  at  Chemeketa  on  January  17,  1842. 
"Oregon  Institute"  was  seleaed  as  the  name  for  the  new  school, 

*^  Jason  Lee  Manuscript  Collection,  Oregon  Historical  Society,  p.  76. 
^^  Lee  and  Frost,  op,  cit.,  p.  250. 

**Read  Bain,  "Methodist  Educational  Effort  in  Oregon  to  I860,"  Oregon 
Historical  Quarterly,  XXI,  pp.  77-83. 


PROGRESS  IN  1841  AND  1842  195 

a  board  of  nine  trustees  was  elected,  and  on  February  1,  1842, 
Jason  Lee  was  elected  to  the  chairmanship  of  the  board.  Early 
in  March,  1842,  an  elaborate  prospectus  for  the  institute  was  pub- 
lished, and  a  constitution  and  by-laws  were  drawn  up  by  the  board 
of  trustees.  The  site  selected  was  on  Wallace  Prairie,  about  three 
miles  north  of  the  ''Mill"  at  Chemeketa,  or  Salem,  the  modern 
capital  of  Oregon.  W.  H.  Gray,  a  Presbyterian  and  former  lay 
member  of  the  Whitman  Mission,  was  employed  as  builder.''^ 

In  the  year  1844  the  fortunes  of  this  pioneer  Methodist  college 
were  greatly  advanced  by  the  purchase  of  the  spacious,  three-story 
Indian  Manual  Labor  School  building,  the  most  imposing  structure 
in  Old  Oregon,  together  with  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  fertile 
land.  The  purchase  price,  as  has  been  stated,  was  the  trifling  sum 
of  four  thousand  dollars.^"  The  ambitious  little  institute,  voted  its 
optimistic  founders,  was  to  become  a  university  "as  soon  as  the 
resources  of  the  institution  shall  justify  it."  ^^ 

Willamette  University,  still  called,  however,  the  "Oregon  Insti- 
tute," was  formally  opened  on  its  present  campus,  August  16, 
1844.  Until  1849  this  school  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Oregon  and  California  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Under  this  control,  in  1853,  the  Oregon  Institute  was 
incorporated  as  Willamette  University.  In  1864,  Waller  Hall,  the 
oldest  building  on  the  present  campus,  was  begun.  To-day  the 
State  Capitol  grounds  and  residential  section  of  Salem  are  located 
on  the  Old  Indian  Mission  School  land  claim. 

For  about  thirty  years  this  Methodist  school  was  the  only  im- 
portant institution  of  learning  in  the  entire  Oregon  country,  and 
exercised  an  exceptional  influence  on  the  cultural,  moral,  and  intel- 
lectual life  of  Oregon.  With  the  establishment  of  the  State  Uni- 
versity of  Oregon  in  1872,  however,  and  the  rise  of  other  institu- 

*^  Gustavus  Hines,  Oregon  and  Its  Institutions,  pp.  139-152;  Robert  M. 
Gatke,  "Outline  History  of  Willamette  University"  (Salem,  Ore.,  n.d.),  a 
Jpamphlet. 

^'Rev.  George  Gary  Diary,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XXIV,  p.  94. 

^'  Carl  Gregg  Doney  (President,  Willamette  University),  "Willamette 
University,"  The  Wilbraham  Bulletin  jar  October,  1928,  p.  21. 


196   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

tions  immediately  thereafter,  the  higher  educational  field  was 
divided  among  several  flourishing  institutions  of  collegiate  and 
university  rank.^^ 

Death  of  Mrs.  Lee.  Jason  Lee's  second  wife,  Lucy  Thomson 
Lee,  died  March  20,  1842,  leaving  an  infant  daughter  born  on 
the  twenty-eighth  of  the  previous  month.  During  her  brief  resi- 
dence in  Oregon,  Mrs.  Lee  had  endeared  herself  to  her  mission 
associates.  Her  death  cast  an  overwhelming  gloom  over  the  mission 
settlement.  It  was  the  third  bereavement  that  was  to  tinge  with 
sadness  the  tragic  career  of  Jason  Lee.  Mrs.  Lee,  an  accomplished 
and  charming  woman,  had  brought  a  culture  to  Old  Oregon  that 
was  preserved  as  a  treasured  memory  in  the  early  annals  of  the 
mission  settlement. ''^  Harvey  K.  Hines  has  recorded  vividly  the 
grief  which  the  death  of  the  young  mother  brought  to  the  isolated 
missionary  group: 

Her  sickness  was  brief  and  not  considered  dangerous.  .  .  .  On 
Saturday,  March  20,  she  coughed.  Mr.  Lee,  who  was  standing  by 
her  side,  raised  her  head  upon  his  arm.  One  gasp  and  all  was  over.  A 
sadder  husband,  a  sadder  group,  never  surrounded  a  missionary's  death 
bed.  When,  a  few  hours  later,  they  laid  away  her  remains  by  the  side 
of  his  former  companion,  they  laid  away  the  casket  that  had  borne  one 
of  the  purest  gems  that  ever  blazed  on  the  dark  night  of  Oregon.  As 
Mr.  Lee,  folding  the  infant  daughter,  then  but  three  weeks  old,  to  his 
heart,  turned  away  from  that  grave  under  the  oaks  of  "Lee  Mission 
Cemetery,"  another  golden  strand  was  braided  into  the  chain  that 
would  bind  his  heart  forever  to  the  vales  and  skies  of  Oregon.^" 

This  is  the  tribute  accorded  the  two  wives  of  Jason  Lee  by 
Harvey  W.  Scott,  the  distinguished  editor  of  the  Portland  Ore- 
gontan  and  a  sympathetic  and  able  interpreter  of  Oregon  history: 

Each  was  a  type  of  devoted  womanhood.  Though  they  gave  all  for 
the  opportunity  to  labor  in  this  unknown  field,  and  sacrificed  their  lives 

^_^_C.  H.  Carey,  History  of  Oregon  (Portland,  1922),  pp.  711-748.  Chapter 
xxxviii,  "Education  in  Oregon,"  is  an  excellent  general  treatment  of  present- 
day  Oregon  educational  institutions. 

*®  H.  K.  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  p.  244. 

''Ubid. 


PROGRESS  IN  1841  AND  1842  197 

in  it,  they  are  fortunate  in  name  and  in  fame.  The  first  wife,  Anna 
Maria  Pittman,  died  in  May  [June],  1838;  the  second,  Lucy  Thomson, 
in  March,  1842.  Sorrowful  fatahty,  due  to  the  conditions  of  remote 
pioneer  hfe,  in  which  woman  had  to  bear  more  than  her  part,  and  yet 
in  her  hour  of  need  could  not  have  the  assistance  that  her  sisters  in  more 
favored  circumstances  received.  Such  were  some  of  the  sacrifices  of  the 
pioneer  time,  through  which  this  country  was  prepared  as  a  dwelling 
place  for  the  succeeding  generations.^^ 

An  undaunted  spirit.  The  student  of  Jason  Lee's  career  is  con- 
stantly impressed  with  his  spirit  of  fortitude.  In  his  bright  lexicon 
there  was  no  such  word  as  fear.  A  triumphant  faith,  the  conscious- 
ness that  as  the  servant  of  his  Creator  he  had  an  important  work 
to  do  were  sources  of  spiritual  power  that  sent  him  forward  to  his 
tasks  in  spite  of  bereavements  and  obstacles  that  would  have 
overwhelmed  a  lesser  man.  His  undaunted  spirit  shines  through 
the  letters  which  Lee  wrote  to  those  closest  to  him.  To  his  Wil- 
braham  Academy  friend,  Rev.  Osmon  C.  Baker,  Jason  Lee  gave 
expression  to  his  grief,  and  also  to  a  spirit  of  victorious  faith,  in  a 
spirit  worthy  of  the  finest  leaders  that  Methodism  has  produced. 
Writing  from  Fort  Vancouver,  on  April  8,  Lee  informed  Mr. 
Baker  of  the  passing  of  his  former  Newbury  Academy  student: 

I  have  a  moment  to  convey  to  you  the  sad  intelligence  that  your 
friend  and  my  dear  wife  bid  adieu  to  this  vale  the  20th  ult.,  leaving 
a  lovely  daughter  three  weeks  old.  Ten  days  after  her  confinement, 
there  was  every  prospect  that  she  would  recover  with  invigorated 
health,  and  continue  long  an  efficient  laborer  in  this  arduous  field,  but 
Heaven  had  otherwise  determined.  She  was  seized  with  the  pleurisy 
and  though  we  looked  upon  her  as  in  a  very  critical  situation,  yet  we 
thought  there  were  reasonable  hopes  of  her  recovery;  and  as  far  as 
we  could  judge,  a  better  prospect  one  minute  before  her  spirit  was  with 
God,  than  at  any  time  after  her  attack.  The  breaking  of  an  ulcer 
entirely  stopped  her  breath  in  a  moment,  and  all  my  exertions,  forcing 
quills,  dipped  in  sweet  oils,  down  her  throat,  only  produced  three 
short  gasps,  and  all  was  over.    She  was  coughing  when  she  choked; 

*^  H.  W.  Scott,  History  of  the  Oregon  Country,  I,  p.  221. 


198   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

I  was  holding  her  head,  I  raised  her  head  so  as  to  see  her  eyes,  and 
she  rolled  up  her  eyes,  and  gave  me  a  look,  which  seemed  to  say,  "I 
am  going";  and  without  a  struggle,  or  even  so  much  as  the  motion 
of  a  finger,  she  fell  in  Jesus. 

She  entertained  hopes  of  recovery,  probably  to  the  moment  of  the 
breaking  of  the  ulcer.  I  had,  however,  conversed  freely  with  her  of 
her  danger,  and  of  her  feelings  in  reference  to  death.  She  felt  resigned 
— had  no  fears  of  death — could  leave  all  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord,  etc. 

A  most  lovely  smile  sat,  and  almost  seemed  to  play  upon  the  coun- 
tenance of  my  dear  companion  after  her  demise.  And  as  I  took  my  last 
heart-rending  gaze  upon  that  countenance,  actually  beautified  by  the 
hand  of  the  destroyer,  I  could  not  forbear  exclaiming, 

"Ah,  lovely  appearance  of  death! 
What  sight  upon  earth  is  so  fair?" 

My  dear  brother,  may  Heaven  long  save  you  from  the  pangs  I  feel. 
But  in  the  midst  of  all  I  rejoice,  yes,  and  I  will  rejoice,  that  my  com- 
panions are  where  they  can  never  suifer  what  I  suffer,  and  that  I  too 
shall  soon  join  them  in  that  glorious  reahn.  I  sometimes  contemplate 
myself  as  occupying  an  enviable  position;  the  glorified  spirits  of  my 
two  beloved  companions  awaiting  my  arrival,  ready  to  welcome  me  to 
that  bright  abode,  where  those  hearts  which  always  beat  in  unison, 
and  those  hands  which  never  touched  a  discordant  string  on  earth,  will 
reunite,  and  join  in  perfea  harmony,  the  bright  retinue  above,  and 
engage  with  celestial  ecstasy  in  the  glorious  employments  of  those 
arovmd  the  throne.  Do  not  contemplate  your  old  friend  as  disconsolate 
and  disheartened.  No,  my  brother,  discouraged  I  am  not.  In  heaviness 
I  cannot  be,  while  the  grace  of  God,  as  hitherto,  bears  me  entirely 
above  that  region,  I  feel  it  would  be  sin  to  waste  my  energies  in  fruit- 
less grief,  or  unavailing  sorrow,  and  yet  I  am  aware  that  it  is  the 
sustaining  grace  of  God  in  me  that  preserves  me  from  it.  Glory  to  God 
in  the  highest!  I  can  exalt  in  the  midst  of  the  furnace.  One  like  unto 
the  Son  of  man  is  with  me,  and  I  expect  to  come  forth  without  the 
smell  of  fire  upon  my  garment.  "In  affliction  deep,  sustained  by 
glorious  hope."  '* 

In  this  same  heroic  strain  writing  a  few  days  later  from  Fort 
Vancouver  he  wrote  to  his  nephew,  Daniel  Lee,  at  The  Dalles 
Mission: 

*^Zion'5  Herald,  September  14,  1842,  XIII,  p.  146. 


PROGRESS  IN  1841  AND  1842  199 

Vancouver  April  13,  1842 — 
My  Dear  Nephew. 

I  opened  Bro.[ther]  Brewers  letter  to  Dr.  Babcock,  and  by  it,  learned 
that  you  had  Indian  reports  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Lee.  It  is  even  so. 
I  supposed  that  some  one  would  have  written  you  the  first  opportunity 
and  did  not  therefore  write  myself,  especially  as  I  expected  to  come  up 
so  soon.  I  expected  to  be  with  you  by  this  time  when  I  left  home. 
But  as  I  am  now  detained  here  waiting  for  letters,  I  write  to  let  you 
know,  that  My  Dear  Companion  became  the  joyful  Mother,  of  a 
lovely  Daughter,  Feb.  28.  and  for  ten  days,  recovered  more  rapidly 
than  we  had  anticipated,  and  there  was  every  prospect,  that  she  would 
be  restored  to  sound  health.  But  an  unerring  Providence  had  otherwise 
determined.  .   .   . 

Thus  suddenly,  and  shall  I  say  unexpectedly,  have  I  been  again 
bereaved.   May  Heaven  long  long  save  you  the  pangs  /  feel. 

I  feel  like  one  upon  a  lofty  eminence  who,  while  he  looks  up  has  no 
fears  but  as  he  turns  his  eyes  downward  an  indescribable  feeling  creeps 
over  him,  as  he  shrinks  back  from  the  gloomy,  dreary,  uninviting, 
lonely  prospect  beneath.  Is  it  possible!  I  am  led  often  involuntarily, 
to  exclaim,  is  it  possible!  that  another  sod  in  Oregon,  covers  the  remains 
of  another  Companion,  who  was  dearer  to  me  than  life  itself? 

I  awake  as  from  a  dream,  but  alas!  all  I  see,  all  I  hear,  and  above 
all,  what  I  jeel,  conspire  to  dispel  the  illusion,  and  I  am  forced  to  yield 
to  the  force  of  truth,  and  to  give  my  reluctant  consent  to  the  unwel- 
come and  overwhelming  fact  that  it  is  all  reality. 

Well,  thank  God,  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  reality.  The  joys 
and  glories  of  heaven  will  soon  be  reality. 

"Let  sickness  blast,  let  death  devour, 
If  heaven  must  recompense  our  pains ; 
Perrish  the  grass  and  fade  the  flower, 
If  firm  the  word  of  God  remains." 

Expecting  soon  to  see  [you]  I  remain  in  affliction  Deep 

Yours  Truly 

Jason  Lee." 

^  ^  Jason  Lee  Letter  to  Daniel  Lee,  Jason  Lee  Manuscript  Collection,  Oregon 
Historical  Society,  Portland,  pp.  8,  9. 


CHAPTER  XII 
PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE 

Indian  unrest.  About  the  beginning  of  the  year  1843,  Superin- 
tendent Lee  began  to  receive  reports  that  the  Indians  whose  habitats 
were  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Methodist  branch  station  at  The  Dalles 
were  becoming  hostile  toward  the  whites/  The  immediate  cause 
of  this  difficulty  was  the  arrival  of  the  Dr.  White  immigrant  train 
in  the  autumn  of  1842.  The  Indians  accurately  interpreted  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  arrival  of  these  permanent  settlers  as  the  first  step 
in  a  movement  that  would  ultimately  dispossess  them  of  their 
ancestral  streams  and  hunting  grounds.  The  leading  Indian  in  the 
disaffected  area  was  the  famous  chief  of  the  Walla  Wallas,  Peu- 
Peu-Mox-Mox,  familiarly  known  to  the  whites  as  "Yellow 
Serpent."  So  great  were  Superintendent  Lee's  fears  of  an  Indian 
uprising  that  he  decided  to  make  a  winter  journey  to  The  Dalles. 
With  his  charaaeristic  intrepidity,  with  foiu:  Indian  guides  and  a 
Chinook  canoe,  he  began  his  downstream  voyage  on  the  swollen 
and  raging  current  of  the  Willamette  on  January  23,  1843,  his 
only  equipment  a  few  blankets,  a  tent,  and  a  small  stock  of  pro- 
visions. He  reached  Fort  Vancouver  by  the  evening  of  January 
27,  four  days  after  his  departure  from  his  residence  at  Chemeketa. 

Journey  to  The  Dalles.  On  the  next  day  Lee  and  his  four  Indians 
began  the  ascent  of  the  Columbia  River.  Despite  wind,  snow,  and 
sheets  of  ice  on  the  river,  the  determined  travelers  succeeded  in 
safely  reaching  their  destination. 

The  Dalles  Mission  station  ["Wascopam"  as  Lee  called  it]  was 
reached  on  the  evening  of  February  1,  1843.  Here  Lee  found  the 

^  Gustavus  Hines,  Missionary  Expedition  to  Oregon,  p.  142 ;  A.  J.  Allen 
(comp.),  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  pp.  176,  177. 

200 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         201 

little  Methodist  missionary  group  in  good  health.  The  "Family" 
at  this  time  consisted  of  Daniel  and  Mrs.  Lee  and  their  two  chil- 
dren; Rev.  H.  K.  W.  Perkins,  Mrs.  Perkins,  and  their  three  chil- 
dren; and  the  mission  farmer,  Mr.  Henry  B.  Brewer,  Mrs.  Brewer, 
and  infant  daughter. 

Mrs.  Marcus  Whitman.  Jason  Lee  was  also  pleased  to  find  at 
the  Dalles  mission  house,  Mrs.  Marcus  Whitman,  who  was  passing 
the  winter  there,  ^  the  guest  of  her  Methodist  missionary  friends. 
Dr.  Whitman  was  at  this  time  on  his  historic  journey  East.  Be- 
cause of  ill  health,  loneliness,  and  the  menacing  attitude  of  the 
Indians  residing  near  the  Whitman  Mission,  this  gracious  woman 
had  come  to  Wascopam  to  enjoy  its  proteaion  and  its  hospitalities. 
In  a  journal  entry,  Lee  expresses  his  pleasure  at  meeting  Mrs.  Whit- 
man and  recalls  those  spring  days  of  five  years  before  when  he 
was  the  comfortable  and  happy  guest  at  Waiilatpu  of  this  charming 
woman  and  her  generous-hearted  husband. 

Mrs.  Dr.  Whitman  was  with  them  [runs  his  journal  entry].  I  was 
glad  to  meet  her  again,  as  I  had  not  seen  her  since  I  called  upon  them 
on  my  journey  to  the  States  in  1838,  but  was  sorry  to  find  her  in  poor 
health.  Met  the  brethren  and  sisters  in  class,  and  had  a  comfortable 
and  profitable  time.  All  seemed  resolved  to  be  faithful  unto  death, 
and  were  looking  with  pleasurable  expectation  to  that  home  where 
they  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life.* 

This  visit  proved  to  be  the  last  one  that  the  mission  superin- 
tendent was  to  make  at  The  Dalles  as  the  guest  of  his  nephew, 
Daniel  Lee.  This  indefatigable  missionary  was  now  completing  the 
tenth  and  last  year  of  fine  service  in  Old  Oregon.  This  is  Daniel 
Lee's  reference  to  his  uncle's  visit,  written  the  following  year: 

The  first  and  second  sabbaths  of  February  [1843]  Mr.  J.  Lee  was 
with  us  and  the  preaching  of  the  word  and  the  holy  communion  was 
rendered  a  blessing  to  our  souls.  The  name  of  the  Lord  be  praised 
for  the  blessed  privileges  he  permitted  us  to  enjoy  from  time  to  time 

^  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  Transactions  for  1893,  p.  111. 
*  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  p.  267. 


202    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

in  that  desert  land!  During  his  visit  there  was  a  remarkable  fall  of 
snow;  and  for  many  days  the  people  were  mostly  confined  to  their 
homes.* 

Chief  "Yellow  Serpent."  In  early  February,  1843,  Jason  Lee 
held,  by  appointment,  a  conference  at  The  Dalles  with  Peu-Peu- 
Mox-Mox,  the  warrior-statesman  of  the  Walla  Wallas.  In  order 
to  hold  this  conference  the  Indian  chief,  accompanied  by  a  band 
of  warriors,  had  journeyed  from  his  home  at  Walla  Walla  down 
the  valley  of  the  Columbia  for  a  distance  of  more  than  a  hundred 
miles.  One  of  the  first  questions  addressed  to  Superintendent  Lee 
by  Chief  "Yellow  Serpent"  was  to  ask  how  the  arrival  of  so  many 
whites  into  the  country  would  aflfea  the  Indians.  Jason  Lee's 
shrewd  reply  follows: 

That  will  depend  largely  upon  yourselves.  If  you  imitate  our  in- 
dustry and  adopt  our  habits  your  poverty  will  soon  disappear,  and  your 
people  will  have  things  as  well  as  we.  Our  hands  are  our  wealth,  and 
you  and  your  people  have  hands  as  well  as  we,  and  you  only  need  to 
use  them  properly  in  order  to  gain  property.  I  illustrated  this  by  show- 
ing them  that  Americans  who  passed  through  their  country  entirely 
destitute  would  by  their  industry  upon  the  Willamette  in  a  few  years 
have  horses  and  cattle  and  other  property,  the  fruits  of  their  own 
labors." 

Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox  next  wanted  to  know  if  Dr.  Elijah  P.  White, 
the  first  ofl&cial  to  be  sent  to  Oregon  by  the  Federal  Government, 
intended  to  make  gifts  to  the  Walla  Wallas.  Jason  Lee  replied 
by  telling  his  red  conferee  that  "to  be  always  looking  for  gifts  was 
a  sure  sign  of  laziness,  for  the  industrious  would  rather  labor  and 
earn  a  thing  that  to  beg  it."  ' 

The  conference  with  "Yellow  Serpent"  ended,  a  perilous  down- 
stream journey  begun  on  February  14  brought  them  on  the  night 
of  February  17  to  the  friendly  beach  at  Fort  Vancouver.    Three 

*  Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  258. 

'  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  p.  270. 

•  Lee  in  letter  to  Mission  Board,  March  27,  1843. 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         203 

days  later  Jason  Lee  successfully  negotiated  a  difficult  midwinter 
ascent,  by  Chinook  canoe,  of  the  swollen  Willamette  River  and 
was  safe  again  at  his  residence  at  Chemeketa  on  February  25. 

Chemeketa.  A  pleasant  glimpse  of  early  summer  aaivities  at 
Chemeketa,  the  modern  Salem,  and  at  Willamette  Falls,  now 
Oregon  City,  is  given  in  a  letter  which  Jason  Lee  wrote  Rev.  A.  F. 
Waller  on  June  29,  1843.  Rev.  Waller  was  at  this  time  stationed 
at  the  important  branch  mission  at  Oregon  City. 

Walamette,  June  29,  1843. 
My  dear  Bro. 

Yours  of  the  23  inst.  came  to  hand.  Whether  our  Fanning  Mills 
will  be  ready  for  use  as  soon  as  you  speak  of  is  more  than  I  am  able 
to  say,  as  I  have  not  seen  Mr.  [Joseph]  Holman  since.  If  Mr.  [Francis 
W.}  Pettygrove's  mill  is  a  good  one  you  had,  perhaps,  better  buy  it, 
as  we  can  no  doubt  sell  all  of  ours  for  that  price  without  difficulty. 

Let  the  Church  build  a  Chapel  upon  the  ground,  and  it  shall  have  it, 
without  money,  and  without  Deed. 

You  mention  having  written  me  some  time  since,  and  that  you  have 
received  no  reply.  If  you  refer  to  your  answer  to  my  last,  written  before 
the  yearly  meeting,^  I  would  say,  that  I  had  forgotten  that  it  required 
an  answer,  and  I  fear  I  shall  not  have  time  to  examine  it  this  morning. 

I  would  say,  however,  that  the  object  I  had  in  view  in  writing  the 
letter  to  which  that  was  an  answer,  was  to  ascertain  the  position  you 
then  occupied,  in  reference  to  the  land  claim  at  the  Falls.  I  had  been 
told  that  you  still  determined  to  hold  on  and  gtt  the  entire  claim  if 
possible,  and  I  wished  to  know  if  this  was  the  faa.  Your  answer  was 
satisfactory,  and  I  know  not  whether  I  have  anything  further  to  say  on 
the  subject. 

We  have  no  news — and  the  Brethern  can  tell  you  all  the  ordinary. 
I  hear  little  said  about  the  Fourth — and  I  have  not  begun  to  prepare 
"an  Oration  forty  minutes  lon^'  yet. 

I  have  been  over  colleaing  cattle  and  have  sold  those  belonging  to 
Mrs.  Whitcomb's  children  to  Bro.  Willson.  Nearly  80  head  for  Eight 
Hundred  Dollars. 

A  Camp  Meeting  is  in  contemplation  for  the  Plains  [Tualatin}.' 

^  At  Oregon  City,  April,  1843. 

®  The  meeting  was  held  July  13-16,  1843. 


204   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

I  purpose  to  be  there,  and  I  hope  to  see  you  there.  I  rejoice  to  hear 
that  you  had  a  good  time  at  your  Communion.  We  also  had  an  interest- 
ing time.  Bro.  LesHe  I  suppose  told  you  that  we  received  the  converts 
in  the  school,  by  Baptism.  May  the  Lord  bless  and  prosper  you  and 
yours.    In  haste. 

Yours  truly, 

Jason  Lee." 

First  Oregon  camp  meeting.  One  of  the  memorable  aaivities  of 
Jason  Lee  during  the  summer  of  1843  was  his  inauguration  of  the 
first  camp  meeting  for  white  settlers  to  be  held  on  the  Pacific 
slope. ''*'  This  religious  gathering  assembled  in  that  attraaive  por- 
tion of  Old  Oregon  known  as  the  Tualatin  Plains,  thirty-five  miles 
west  of  Willamette  Falls.  The  missionaries  pitched  their  tents 
under  the  shelter  of  three  giant  trees,  two  towering  firs  and  a 
stately  oak.  Jason  Lee,  Gustavus  Hines,  and  H.  K.  W.  Perkins,  the 
prominent  Methodist  ministers  present;  and  Harvey  Clark,  the 
popular  Congregational  minister  who  had  settled  on  the  Tualatin 
Plains  in  1841,  were  in  charge  of  the  meeting. 

The  first  day,  Thursday,  July  13,  only  fourteen  persons  were 
in  attendance.  On  this  occasion  Jason  Lee  seleaed  this  appropriate 
text  from  Matthew  for  his  sermon:  "For  where  two  or  three  are 
gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them." 
By  Sunday,  July  16,  the  growing  interest  resulted  in  an  attendance 
of  sixty  persons,  a  majority  of  the  Willamette  Valley  settlers. 
Nineteen  of  these  were  non-professers  of  religion.  So  effeaive, 
however,  was  the  preaching  of  Jason  Lee  and  his  associates  that 
by  Sunday  evening  sixteen  of  the  nineteen  non-professers  were 
publicly  converted.  A  speaacular  feature  of  the  camp  meeting  was 
the  conversion  of  Oregon's  most  picturesque  mountain  man,  Joseph 
Meek.  Joseph  Meek,  with  Dr.  Robert  Newell  and  other  comrades 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  arrived  in  the  Willamette  Valley  in  De- 
cember, 1840.  Praaically  penniless,  they  selected  farm  sites  on  the 
Tualatin  Plains  and  began  the  ereaion  of  homes.   In  May,  1843, 

*  Jason  Lee  Manuscript  Collection,  Oregon  Historical  Society,  Portland, 
Oregon,  pp.  10,  11. 

^^  Methodist  Annual  Report  for  1844,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly, 
XXIII,  pp.  326,  327. 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         205 

Meek  is  said  to  have  been  the  self-appointed  vote-taker  at  the 
Qiampoeg  meeting,  v^hich  is  credited  by  some  writers  as  having 
organized  Oregon's  first  provisional  government/^  Under  the 
provisional  government  he  had  been  elected  to  the  office  of  sheriff, 
a  post  for  which  he  was  well  suited/^  On  Sunday  evening, 
July  16,  after  professing  Christianity,  Meek  exclaimed,  "Tell 
everybody  you  see  that  Joseph  Meek,  that  old  Rocky  Mountain 
sinner,  has  turned  to  the  Lord!"  ^' 

Daniel  Lee's  departure.  Doutbless  the  saddest  event  in  the  last 
year  of  Jason  Lee's  residence  in  Oregon  occurred  on  August  15, 
1843,  when  he  said  farewell  to  his  nephew,  Daniel  Lee,  who,  as 
has  earlier  been  narrated,  departed  from  Oregon  for  the  United 
States  on  an  ocean-sailing  ship  called  the  Diamond.  Their  last 
meeting  took  place  at  Fort  George  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
River.  James  Birnie,  the  resident  trader  at  Fort  George,  dispensed 
for  the  last  time  a  cordial  welcome  to  the  two  Lees.  Birnie,  a 
native  of  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  was  one  of  that  fine  group  of 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  men  whose  name  is  spoken  with  appre- 
ciation by  the  numerous  visitors  who  were  the  beneficiaries  of  his 
courteous  and  big-hearted  hospitality.^*  At  Birnie's  request,  Jason 
and  Daniel  Lee  preached  at  his  establishment  on  Sunday,  August  13, 
the  last  of  many  services  conduaed  jointly  by  uncle  and  nephew 
in  Old  Oregon. 

The  Diamond  lay  at  anchor  near  Fort  George  until  Tuesday, 
August  15,  1843,  when  it  dropped  down  to  Baker's  Bay  while 
Jason  Lee  and  other  friends  on  the  shore  waved  farewells  to  the 
Daniel  Lees,  and  also  to  the  Frosts,  and  the  Babcocks.  Mrs.  Marcus 
Whitman  accompanied  the  Daniel  Lee  family  to  Fort  George  from 
Fort  Vancouver,  and  spent  a  day  or  two  on  board  ship  with 
Mrs.  Lee. 

Lee's  last  summer  at  Chemeketa.   On  the  day  of  Daniel  Lee's 

^^  See  p.  217. 

*^  Frances  Fuller  Victor,  The  River  of  the  West  (Hartford,  1870),  pp. 
287,  323. 

^*  Methodist  Annual  Report  for  1844,  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XXIII, 
p.  326. 

**  Bancroft,  History  of  the  Northwest  Coast,  II,  p.  276. 


206   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

departure,  Jason  Lee  and  Mrs.  Whitman  paid  a  short  visit  to  the 
Clatsop  Mission  house.  Mr.  Parrish,  Rev.  Frost's  successor  in 
charge  of  this  station,  was  a  cordial  host.  After  remaining  at  Clat- 
sop for  about  one  week.  Superintendent  Lee  set  out  for  home 
accompanied  by  Mrs.  Whitman  and  David  Leslie.  Traveling  by 
way  of  Willamette  Falls,  they  proceeded  up  the  river,  arriving  at 
Chemeketa  in  late  August,  1843.^^  About  three  weeks  later, 
Mrs.  Whitman,  who  had  remained  at  Chemeketa  visiting  her 
Methodist  friends,  received  the  exciting  news  that  her  husband 
was  returning  over  the  Oregon  Trail  from  his  long  and  memorable 
journey  East.  The  message  also  stated  that  he  was  a  member  of 
a  large  immigrant  party,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
wagons. 

Lee  meets  Marcus  Whitman.  Accordingly,  in  the  last  week  of 
September,  Jason  Lee,  serving  as  an  escort  for  Mrs.  Whitman  on 
her  homeward  trip,  set  out  again  for  The  Dalles  Mission  station. 
Descending  the  Willamette  by  canoe,  they  made  a  short  stop  at 
Fort  Vancouver,  whence  they  proceeded  by  the  Columbia.  The 
Cascades  were  portaged  in  safety  although  continual  rain  made 
traveling  unpleasant,  and  they  reached  The  Dalles  on  Saturday 
evening,  Oaober  7,  1843. 

While  at  Wascopam  Jason  Lee  wrote  the  Secretary  of  his 
Mission  Board  this  long  letter,  hitherto  unpublished,  which  dis- 
closes the  serious  problems  confronting  him  during  these  autumn 
days.  The  letter  was  concluded  on  board  the  brig  Pallas  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Willamette  on  Friday  night,  Oaober  27. 

Wascopam,  Oa.  13,  1843. 
Rev.  and  Dear  Sir: 

Yours  bearing  date  of  January  3,  1843,  came  to  hand  some  three 
weeks  since,  by  the  Brig  Pallas,  and  that  of  March  15  '43  by  the  fore- 
most of  the  Emigration  Party,  last  Saturday  evening. 

They  were  perhaps  the  more  highly  prized  being  the  only  ones  re- 
ceived by  these  favorable  opportunities.   I  suppose  the  Pallas  will  sail 

^^Narcissa  Whitman  letter  to  her  father,  dated  April  12,  1844,  Oregon 
Pioneer  Association  Transactions  for  1893,  pp.  59,  60. 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         207 

for  Oahoo  in  a  few  days,  and  hope  to  be  able  to  prepare  some  sort  of 
a  communication  for  you  before  she  leaves,  but  whether  I  shall  be 
able  to  write  halj  what  you  will  expect  or  not,  and  carry  it  down  in 
time  for  that  conveyance  is  more  than  I  can  now  say. 

I  am  sorry  to  learn  that  the  Board  has  been  so  deeply  afflicted  and 
so  greatly  disappointed  on  account  of  my  real  or  supposed  delinquen- 
cies; and  I  will  not  conceal  from  you  that  I  have  a  hope,  (nothwith- 
standing  the  severity  of  yours,)  that  some  facts  communicated  last 
March  will  satisfy  the  Board  that  they  required  of  me  what  it  was  not 
in  my  power  to  give.  I  think  I  stated  to  the  Board  that  I  was  not 
sufficiently  acquainted  with  Bookkeeping  to  enable  me  to  report  inteli- 
gibly  the  fiscal  state  of  this  Mission.  And  I  will  now  say  that  there  was 
not  a  hint  when  I  was  in  New  York  that  any  such  thing  would  be 
required  of  me, — so  far  from  it,  that  the  constant  talk  was  that  the 
Board  would  send  a  "Steward  to  take  charge  of  the  fiscal  affairs  of  the 
Mission,"  as  Dr.  Bangs  said  in  a  meeting  of  the  Board  which  I 
attended. 

I  think  I  did  what  I  could  to  have  the  desired  report,  prepared  at 
an  earlier  date,  but  I  have  no  censure  to  pass  upon  any  one.  I  know 
Bro.  Abernethy  has  reasons  satisfactory  to  himself,  and  I  know  not  but 
they  ought  to  satisfy  others.  When  I  call  to  mind  what  I  have  passed 
through  since  I  returned  to  Oregon — the  excitement  made  by  Dr. 
White,  the  protracted  sickness  of  my  Dear  companion,  and  her  final 
separation  from  me  by  Death, — ^my  own  state  of  health, — the  strange 
and  unexpeaed  and  unparalleled,  and  in  my  opinion,  most  unreason- 
able and  unaccountable  course  of  our  Missionaries  who  have,  without 
scarcely  making  an  effort  at  all,  gone  home  exclaiming  nothing  can  be 
done,  for  there  is  nothing  to  do, — the  consequent  derangement  of  our 
plans, — the  discouraging  influence  these  have  upon  those  that  remain, 
— the  great  amount  of  sickness,  which  I  have  mentioned  in  almost  every 
letter  (which  you  do  not  seem  to  take  into  the  account,  but  would  have 
the  returns  as  if  all  had  been  prosperous) , — the  fact  that  our  saw  mill 
did  not  run  so  early  last  winter  by  two  months,  as  usual,  that  we  were 
very  unfortunate  in  the  Mill  geting  out  of  repair, — the  misfortune  of 
four  or  five  himdred  dollars  worth  of  lumber  being  consumed  by  fire — 
the  amount  of  extra  labor  that  has  devolved  upon  me  by  reason  of  the 
sickness  of  others,  they  not  being  able  to  attend  at  all  times  to  their 
business,  etc.  etc.    I  say  when  I  call  these  things  to  mind  I  do  not 


208   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

wonder  that  I  have  not  met  the  expectations  of  the  Board  in  not  send- 
ing minute  and  extended  accounts  of  all  that  has  transpired  in  this 
Mission. 

I  acknowledge  my  "delinquency"  if  you  choose  to  call  it  so.  I  might 
have  written  more  and  done  less  of  something  els,  perhaps  more  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  Board,  but  I  have  done  what  I  thought  was  for  the 
best  and  I  think  as  much  as  I  am  able  to  endure.  I  hope  in  fumre  if 
my  present  state  of  health  should  continue  to  be  able  to  meet  the  expec- 
tations of  the  Board  as  far  as  my  own  duty  is  concerned  and  I  do  not 
do  it  let  your  censure  come,  I  doubt  not  I  shall  hear  them  with  meek- 
ness and  profit  by  them.  But  if  you  can  consistant  with  your  own  duty, 
I  hope  you  will  spare  my  feelings  and  not  complain  of  me  for  what 
never  was,  and  never  can  he  my  duty.  Surely  you  must  see  that  if  you 
are  perplexed  and  embarrased,  I  can  be  no  less  so! 

Have  not  I  embarked  my  all  in  this  Mission  to  sink  or  swim  with  it? 
Have  not  I  forsaken  all  and  labored  incessantly  for  the  long  years  in 
the  service  of  the  Board,  with  no  other  object  in  view  but  to  build  up 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ  in  this  dark  land?  And  how  is  it  possible  for 
me  to  see  the  professed  friends  of  this  Mission,  turn  its  most  bitter 
enemies  and  not  feel  more  intensely  than  language  can  portray?  I  am 
not  now  able  to  give  my  views  in  reference  to  the  various  causes  which 
have  operated  to  influence  our  Missionaries  to  leave  the  field  and  to 
prevent  the  cause  prospering  in  our  hands;  but  if  the  Lord  spare  my 
life  and  give  me  health  I  here  pledge  myself  to  make  an  attempt  to  give 
you  my  views,  in  detail  by  the  March  expresses.  I  hope  you  will,  as  far 
as  possible,  suspend  your  judgment  till  that  time,  for  I  am  persuaded 
that  where  there  is  so  much  self  interest  as  there  is  in  the  case  of  those 
who  have  gone  and  are  going  home,  the  statements  they  may  make  will 
be  liable  to  be  all  on  one  side.  You  speak  of  Brother  Kone, — I  think 
there  is  no  cause  for  me  to  add  anything  to  what  I  have  previously 
written  respecting  him,  at  presetit.  There  was  at  the  time  the  subjea 
of  the  laymen's  rights  was  first  agitated  a  "strong  predisposition  to  in- 
subordination" on  that  subject,  but  it  has  long  since  passed  away  or 
perhaps  lies  dormant  awaiting  your  answer.  I  am  pleased  with  your 
views  on  this  subject.  I  cannot  say  that  any  of  our  Missionaries  have 
become  "secular  men,"  and  yet  I  cannot  say  that  none  of  them  have 
"bought  and  sold  and  got  gain."  That  is,  they  have  bought  cattle  and 
these  cattle  have  increased  and  they  have  sold  the  increase  and  some- 


i 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         209 

times  some  of  the  original,  and  bought  again,  etc.,  etc.  I  cannot  say 
that  I  have  approved  of  everything  of  this  kind  that  has  been  done 
among  us  and  yet  every  one  seems  to  think  that  he  has  kept  within 
bounds,  and  none  I  think  have  gone  beyond,  what  some  of  your 
Preachers  do  at  home.  But  I  must  pass,  hoping  to  give  you  the  details 
in  my  March  communication,  not  of  this  subject  only,  but  of  several 
others,  believing  that  nothing  short  of  this,  can  be  satisfactory  to  you. 
It  is  to  me,  perfectly  unaccountable,  how  you  can  hold  me  delinquent 
in  my  accounts  of  disbursements  to  the  amount  of  100,000  Dollars. 
Surely  you  ought  not  to  be  ignorant,  that  the  money  expended  for  the 
outfit,  passage,  etc.  of  all  the  reinforcements  except  the  last  did  not 
pass  through  my  hands  and  no  account  of  the  same  ever  rendered  me. 
Surely  I  left  with  the  Board  every  item  concerning  the  outfit,  passage, 
freight,  etc.,  of  the  last  reinforcement,  which  I  think  amounted  to 
more  than  half  of  the  40,000  Dollars,  besides  they  always  know  the 
amount  paid  for  salaries  for  they  make  their  own  estimate.  But  enough 
of  this!  I  shall  be  happy  if  the  account  we  have  rendered  should  in 
any  wise  serve  to  convince  the  Board  that  "the  state  of  things"  is  not 
quite  so  "irregular  and  confused"  as  they  have  been  led  to  believe. 

And  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  the  great  day  should  reveal  that 
the  minds  of  those  who  have  reported  such  things  to  you,  were  more 
"confused"  and  their  course  more  "irregular"  than  the  state  of  things 
which  obtains,  even  in  this  Mission. 

I  assure  you  that  "order  and  system^'  does  prevail  here,  though  there 
are  insurmountable  obstacles  in  the  way  of  everything  going  just  like 
clock  work  in  this  new  and  wilderness  country. 

With  respect  to  amount  appropriated,  I  can  only  say  that  I  fear  I 
have  already  drawn  for  a  much  larger  amount,  some  to  pay  Mission- 
aries who  were  going  home  and  some  to  pay  for  goods  purchased  at  the 
Islands,  which  Bro.  Abernethy's  book  will  show  have  yielded  profit. 

I  would  most  cheerfully  carry  out  the  views  and  meet  every  wish  of 
the  Board,  but  how  can  I?  Who  can  anticipate  their  wishes  in  these 
days  of  change.  My  own  views  of  economy  in  expenditures,  I  freely 
confess,  have  not  always  been  able  to  carry  out.  Circumstances  of  the 
case  and  the  views  of  others,  have  urged  me  on  faster  than  I  wished, 
and  yet  these  perhaps  were  the  first  to  desire  some  change  which 
would  lessen  the  value  of  the  improvements  made.  It  is  well  known 
to  the  Board  when  we  left  N.  York  that  they  gave  us  to  understand 


210   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

that  they  not  only  intended  to  sustain  those  sent,  but  to  send  more  if 
the  success  would  warrant  it,  and  it  was  with  this  view  our  locations 
were  made.  But  so  far  from  this,  that  even,  many  who  came  are  gone. 
Take  into  the  account  the  amount  of  sickness  that  I  have  from  time 
to  time  reported — the  consequent  discouragement  which  would  neces- 
sarily follow  all  these  unlooked  for  changes  and  discouragements  and 
then  tell  me  if  it  is  fair  to  expea  that  my  fond  hopes  will  be  realized 
in  reference  to  the  amount  which  wanted  to  be  raised  in  this  country 
by  the  labors  of  the  Missionaries.  Besides,  I  never  held  out  to  the 
Board  or  anyone  else,  that  there  was  the  least  prospea  of  the  Mission 
sustaining  itself  so  soon.  I  think  the  language  I  held  was  in  substance 
the  following;  that,  "if  the  Board  would  deal  liberally  with  this  Mis- 
sion, that  they  would  doubtless  find  it  to  be  the  most  economical  in 
the  end.  That  in  this  way  they  would  hasten  that  period  when  the 
Walamette  Valley  would  not  only  sustain  its  own  Missionaries  but 
would  be  sending  forth  Missionaries  to  other  places." 

This  was  my  opinion  then,  and  I  have  seen  no  cause  to  alter  it  yet. 
And  on  the  supposition  that  Miller's  prediaions  are  not  true  but  that 
the  world  will  stand  a  century  yet,  I  shall  venture  an  opinion ;  though 
it  may  subjea  me  to  the  sneer  of  the  faint-hearted,  who  have  left  the 
field  and  of  the  Board  who  are  pressed  some  beneath  the  weight  of  a 
Debt  of  $50,000,  yet  I  say  I  shall  venture  an  opinion;  that,  the  Mis- 
sionary cause  will  receive  an  amount  in  Dollars  and  Cents,  more  than 
equal  to  the  entire  amount  of  principal,  and  interest,  of  all  that  has 
been  expended  for  Oregon;  from  Oregon  itself;  as  the  fruits  of  Mis- 
sionary labor,  over  and  above  what  it  would  have  received  had  their 
been  no  Mission  established  here  up  to  this  time. 

This,  I  am  aware,  may  be  called  comfort  to  those  who  are  looking 
for  the  aimual  conversion  of  thousands,  but  to  me  in  these  days  of  trial 
it  is  comfort.  Especially,  as  so  great  a  proportion  of  the  money  has 
necessarily  been  expended  in  getting  to  the  country. 

I  have  been  thinking  much  on  the  subjea  a  Special  Agent  being  sent 
to  this  country,  and  am  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  measure. 

I  shall  set  down  a  few  reasons  why  I  would  wish  to  see  a  special 
Agent  here.  First,  I  have  learned  with  pain,  that  without  knowing 
the  causes  of  my  "neglect,"  the  Board  are  very  much  disatisfied  with 
me  on  account  of  it,  hence  it  is  hardly  supposable  that  any  thing  that 
I  can  say,  will  have  its  due  weight  with  them.   Secondly,  I  am  con- 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         211 

fident  the  Board  have  received  false  impressions  and  will  receive  more 
from  those  who  have  left  this  field  which  can  never  be  entirely  re- 
moved, but  by  a  candid  report  from  one  in  whom  they  repose  the  most 
implicit  confidence,  and  whose  circumstances  are  such  that  he  can  be 
actuated  by  no  other  motive,  save  the  glory  of  God  in  the  exhibition 
of  truth.  Thirdly,  if  we  write  home  for  advice  or  instruction  on  any 
particular  subjea,  we  never  get  an  answer;  at  least  we  have  never  been 
favored  with  one  up  to  this  date;  though  it  is  nearly  three  years  since 
I  wrote  Bishop  Waugh,  by  order  of  the  Annual  Meeting,  requesting 
information,  and  instruction,  on  important  points  and  have  often 
requested  instruction  from  the  Board.  True,  I  have  information  that 
some  of  my  letters  are  received  but  no  dates  are  mentioned. 

Now  should  answers  be  received  subsequent  to  this,  such  are  the 
changes  in  the  circumstances,  and  aspects  of  the  Mission,  during  this 
long  interim,  that  they  would  be  comparatively  of  little  use. 

Hence,  I  would  urge  the  necessity  of  sending,  at  once,  a  special 
Agent  with  plenary  powers  over  every  department  of  this  Mission, 
with  authority  to  say  where,  and  what  changes  should  be  made,  if  any 
are  required.  In  this  way  the  confidence  of  the  Board  may  be  restored 
or  at  least  the  facts  in  the  case  may  be  endorsed  by  them. 

If  a  man,  coming  directly  from  the  Board,  feeling  all  their  embar- 
rassments, and  knowing  fully  their  recent  views,  were  to  come  here 
and  see  our  operations,  he  might  judge  it  best  to  close  some  of  our 
secular  concerns  and  make  some  satisfactory  arrangement  with  some 
of  the  Laymen  to  become  disconneaed  with  the  Mission. 

I  have  time  to  say  no  more  on  this  subject,  except  that  I  hope  and 
pray  that  the  Board  will  take  speedy  measures  to  satisjy  themselves, 
in  reference  to  this  Mission  for  if  we  cannot  have  their  confidence, 
and  their  cooperation,  and  cheerful  support,  the  sooner  the  whole  is 
wound  up,  or  rather  placed  on  some  other  footing,  the  better  for  all 
concerned.  I  mean  this ;  if  after  examination  here,  it  should  be  thought 
that  this  Mission  is  a  burden  to  the  Society,  it  would  be  best  to  wind 
it  up;  or,  rather  it  would  be  preferable;  to  place  it  on  some  other 
footing  which  might  be  mutually  satisfactory  to  the  Board,  and  their 
Missionaries  now  in  this  field. 

On  one  point,  I  have  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  viz.,  that  the 
growth  and  spread,  and  rise,  and  glory  and  triumph  of  Methodism, 
in  the  Walamette  Valley  is  destined  to  be  commensurate  with  the 


212   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

growth  and  rise  and  prosperity  of  our  now  infant,  but  flourishing  and 
rapidly  increasing  settlement  for  such  is  the  adaptation  of  Oregon's 
soil  to  the  genious  of  Methodism  and  such  fruit  she  has  already  pro- 
duced in  this  country  that  I  am  persuaded  she  is  destined  to  flourish 
here,  in  spite  of  all  the  chilling  blasts  of  adversity  that  can  be  brought 
to  bear  upon  her. 

I  am  aware  that  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  slide  into  a  contemning  and 
complaining  spirit,  but  as  I  have  the  best  of  reasons,  just  now,  for 
having  no  fellowship  with  it,  I  beg  not  to  be  understood  as  complain- 
ing, or  finding  fault  in  what  I  am  about  to  say. 

I  wrote  you  an  account  of  my  bereavement  in  the  loss  of  my  Dear 
Companion  dated  I  think  in  March,  1842.  Has  that  communication 
been  received.?  If  so,  how  is  it  that  no  allusion  is  made  to  it  in  yours? 
I  cannot  conceive  it  possible  that  intelligence  should  have  been  received 
and  you  withhold  the  fact  from  me. 

Had  you  mentioned  the  dates  of  the  letters  received,  I  should  then 
have  known  which  had  been  received  and  which  had  been  lost.  Will 
you  please  have  the  goodness  in  future  to  mention  dates? 

No  mention  of  the  disposition  of  the  "Bill  of  Objections"  in  the 
New  England  Conference — though  the  cession  to  which  I  was  cited 
had  closed  long  before  you  wrote.  You  promised  to  write  on  the 
subject  of  Laymen's  rights,  in  your  next — it  is  received,  but  nothing 
on  that  subject. 

Can  you  tell  why  it  is  that  no  answers  are  received  to  the  questions 
we  have  been  constrained  to  ask  the  Board  from  time  to  time,  concern- 
ing how  we  were  to  act  in  particular  cases. 

I  see  the  Mission  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  [American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions}  beside  a  large  amount  of  their  own 
papers  has  our  C.  A.  and  Journal  [^Christian  Advocate  and  Journal] 
of  a  much  later  date  than  any  we  have  received. 

The  requisition  of  the  Board  concerning  Diaries  I  suppose  was  in- 
tended to  include  all,  both  Ministers  and  Laymen  but  one  of  the  two 
Brethren  here  seem  to  think  otherwise.  If  he  is  correct  and  the  Minis- 
ters only  keep  Diaries,  it  is  impossible  for  the  views  of  the  Board  to 
be  met, — for  they  can  never  keep  diaries  of  the  operations  of  the 
secular  men. 

I  shall  therefore  endeavor  to  enforce  my  own  sense  of  the  resolution 
until  further  advice  and  if  I  should  be  wrong  and  you  should  get  a 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         213 

surplus  of  communications,  I  hope  they  will  be  filed  in  against  past 
deficiencies. 

Brig  Pallas  Mouth  of  the  Walamette  Oct.  27,  1843. 

The  above  was  written  at  Wascopam  but  the  coming  of  the  Emi- 
grants and  other  business  did  not  allow  me  time  to  proceed  and  I 
hoped  to  have  time  to  finish  after  I  had  reached  home,  but  as  I  know 
no  chance  of  sending  to  the  Brig  hereafter,  I  shall  send  what  I  have 
after  adding  what  little  I  can  tonight.  Since  I  wrote  the  above  I  have 
seen  Dr.  Whitman,  who  informs  me  that  he  saw  Bro.  Ames  your 
western  secretary,  and  Bro.  Ames*  informed  him  that  I  should  be 
called  home.  Be  it  so.  You  sent  me  here  I  dispute  not  your  right  to 
call  me  away.  Under  existing  circumstances,  I  should  be  greatly  pleased 
to  visit  the  states  and  yield  myself  up  to  the  Powers  that  be  and  if  I 
have  done  anything  worthy  of  death,  I  trust  I  shall  not  refuse  to  die, 
having  long  since  ceased  to  count  my  life  dear  unto  myself.  But  after 
all  I  must  say  that  I  am  fully  convinced  that  there  is  a  more  excellent 
way.  That  is  send  an  Agent.  Should  this  reach  you  before  you  have 
taken  your  measures,  I  do  think  you  will  see  the  propriety  and  impor- 
tance of  sending  one  at  once.  It  will  be  no  more  expensive  and  it 
will  be  a  far  more  efficient  and  expeditory  way  of  settling  the  entire 
business  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Board.  But  in  order  to  do  this  your 
Agent  must  come  with  power  not  only  to  examine  into  the  state  of 
affairs  but  to  act  in  the  premises.  If  he  has  to  come  here  and  return 
and  report  to  the  Board,  and  we  await  their  action,  and  the  return  of 
their  doings,  the  mission  may  undergo  such  changes  in  that  time  as 
to  render  their  decision  far  less  beneficial  than  those  of  an  Agent  on 
the  spot. 

I  wish  him  to  come  with  power  to  appoint  another  Supt.  if  he  is 
not  pleased  with  the  present  one  without  having  to  go  home  and  con- 
sult the  Board  on  the  subject  and  so  on  other  things.  I  urge  this  mat- 
ter, for  I  feel  a  deep  interest  in  it.  Not  that  I  fear  the  result,  as  far  as 
I  am  personally  concerned,  but  I  frankly  confess  that  I  do  not  wish  to 
linger  along  in  the  service  of  a  Board  who  have  so  far  lost  their  con- 
fidence in  me  as  to  talk  of  recalling  me,  and  yet  leave  me  to  learn  this 
from  strangers.  Brethren  do  I  do  wrong  to  be  grieved  when  one  of  the 
secretaries  of  our  Board  allows  himself  to  divulge  to  strangers  what 

*  Edward  R.  Ames.   His  name  appears  as  the  Agent  appointed  to  investigate 
the  Oregon  Mission  at  the  February  4,  1843,  meeting  of  the  Mission  Board. 


214   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

is  calculated  to  disparage  me  in  their  eyes,  and  what  in  all  justice  should 
have  been  kept  to  yourselves  till  I  had  been  heard?  Should  this  chance 
to  reach  you  in  time,  I  beg  you,  I  implore  you,  send  an  Agent  with 
the  Emigrating  Party  in  the  spring  across  the  Mountains  or  give  me 
to  understand  that  you  are  better  satisfied  with  me,  or  allow  me  to 
come  home  and  answer  for  myself,  or  discharge  me  here,  or  at  least 
content  yourselves  with  saying  among  yourselves,  "Bro.  Lee  will  be 
called  home,"  and  leave  it  there.  Tell  it  not  in  Gath!  Publish  it  in 
the  ears  of  the  missionaries  of  other  Societies. 

I  have  commenced  a  diary  but  cannot  send  it  now  until  some  oppor- 
tunity appears  to  send  it  down  after  I  go  up. 

I  purpose  to  give  you  some  account  of  the  pledged  work  of  the  Lord 
among  the  settlers  the  passed  season,  but  I  think  Bro.  Hines  has  writ- 
ten and  I  am  too  weary  to  write  more  tonight.  I  suppose  you  will  get 
from  Bro.  Daniel  Lee  an  answer  to  the  questions  you  have  proposed 
to  me,  long  before  this  will  reach  you,  as  he  will  visit  New  York. 

I  cannot  close  without  saying  that  there  is  the  best  state  of  feeling 
among  our  people  that  has  existed  since  our  arrival  in  1840  and  the 
emigrants  are  perfealy  surprised  to  see  the  religious  state  of  this  coun- 
try. I  propose  to  write  more  fully  on  this  subject  in  the  course  of  two 
or  three  weeks.  My  own  soul  for  some  weeks  has  been  on  the  wing 
for  glory  and  I  have  no  doubt  I  shall  soon  get  there. 

Yours  truly, 

(Signed)  Jason  Lee.^" 

The  last  week  of  Oaober,  1843,  witnessed  a  memorable  meet- 
ing at  The  Dalles  Mission  House,  when  the  two  famous  pioneer 
missionaries  of  Old  Oregon  held  a  long  and  pleasant  conference. 
Profoundly  interested  at  this  time  in  establishing  title  to  his 
mission  claims  and  in  laying  the  foundations  for  a  white  Christian 
civilization  to  care  for  the  needs  of  the  incoming  pioneers,  Lee 
must  have  been  a  deeply  interested  listener  to  Whitman's  account 
of  the  march  of  the  "Great  Emigration  of  1843."    Here  about 

^*  Records  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  1701  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia.  From  1833  to 
1912  the  Oregon  Records  were  filed  at  the  office  of  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  New  York  City.  In  1912,  the  Oregon  Mission  Records  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  Office  of  the  Home  Board  at  Philadelphia.  Transcript  kindly 
fxirnished  author  by  E.  D.  Kohlstedt,  Corresponding  Secretary. 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         215 

Wednesday,  Oaober  25,  Jason  Lee  and  Marcus  Whitman  gave 
each  other  the  parting  hand  in  what  proved  to  be  a  final  farewell. 
Mrs.  Whitman,  in  the  unguarded  language  of  a  private  letter 
written  soon  after  that  meeting,  pays  this  tribute  to  Jason  Lee: 

The  Whitmans'  tribute  to  Jason  Lee. 

When  we  parted  with  Mr.  Lee  we  little  thought  that  our  first  news 
of  him  would  be  that  he  had  set  his  face  toward  his  native  land.  But 
it  was  indeed  so.  He  had  gone  again,  and  I  should  rejoice  if  dear  father 
and  mother  would  see  him.  He  has  shown  me  great  kindness  during 
my  lonely  state,  and  may  the  Lord  reward  him  for  it.  He  has  been 
deeply  afflicted  in  his  domestic  relations.  He  has  buried  two  excellent 
wives  and  a  little  son.  A  little  daughter  of  his  last  wife  still  survives 
to  comfort  and  cheer  him  in  his  lonliness.  She  has  gone  with  him  to 
the  States;  and  so  has  Rev.  Mr.  Hinds  [Hines}  and  his  wife.^' 

Of  his  farewell  meeting  with  Jason  Lee,  Dr.  Whitman  wrote: 

I  have  been  at  Waskopum  [Wascopam],  the  station  near  the  Dalles 
of  the  Methodist  Mission,  after  Mrs.  Whitman,  whom  I  have  brought 
this  far  on  our  way  home.  Mr.  Jason  Lee  was  there  and  had  provided 
her  with  a  passage  to  that  place  from  the  Willamette,  where  she  had 
spent  some  time.  Mr.  Lee  was  in  a  most  interesting  religious  state  of 
mind.  He  had  just  come  from  a  series  of  religious  meetings  among  the 
settlers  of  the  Willamette,  wherein  they  had  been  greatly  blessed  by  the 
conversion  of  many  of  the  most  hardened  and  the  reclamation  of  back- 
sliden  professors.  He  is  in  no  way  discouraged  himself,  but  says  if  any 
of  their  mission  have  made  up  their  minds  to  leave  he  will  encourage 
them  to  go  home  as  soon  as  possible.^* 

On  his  homeward  journey  Lee  invited  an  enterprising  member 
of  the  Immigration  of  1843,  John  Burch  McClane,  to  share  with 
him  his  canoe,  and  in  later  years  McClane  left  this  reminiscent 
reference  to  this  voyage  from  Wascopam: 

^^Narcissa  Whitman  to  her  father,  April  12,  1844,  Transactions  Oregon 
Pioneer  Association  for  1893,  p.  61. 

^*W.  A.  Mowry,  Marcus  Whitman  (New  York,  1901),  p.  265.  In  a 
letter  from  Fort  Walla  Walla,  November  1,  to  Rev.  David  Greene,  Secretary 
of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  Mission  House, 
Boston. 


216   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

...  at  the  Dalles  I  had  an  invitation  from  the  Rev.  Jason  Lee, 
superintendent  of  the  Mission,  to  get  into  his  canoe,  and  ride  down 
to  Oregon  City,  which  I  accepted.,  That  mission  [the  Old  Mission 
Station]  was  about  ten  miles  below  Salem.  He  [Lee]  was  up  at  the 
Dalles,  at  that  time  to  meet  the  emigration  and  see  the  mission  there. 
.  .  .  [Upon  reaching  Chemeketa  later]  I  found  Hamilton  Campbell 
there  as  Superintendent  of  the  School;  W.  W.  Raymond  boarded  the 
scholars.  There  I  found  at  the  parsonage  Gustavus  Hines  and  his  lady, 
and  the  Rev.  Jason  Lee  Superintendent  of  the  Mission  boarded  with 
them;   and  I  likewise  boarded  there  during  that  winter   [of   1843- 

Lee  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Willamette  River  about  Friday, 
October  27.  Here  on  board  the  brig  Pallas  he  wrote  the  above 
quoted  letter  of  Oaober  16  to  his  Board.  On  Saturday,  October 
28,  finding  opportunity  to  communicate  still  further  with  his 
Board,  he  wrote  two  informative  letters  concerning  the  "Great 
Emigration  of  1843,"  and  other  events  to  which  he  had  been  an 
eyewitness.  A  contemporary  newspaper  report  of  these  letters 
reads: 

Late  and  Interesting  from  Oregon 
At  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Missionary  Society 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church — held  last  evening — late  and  inter- 
esting communications  were  received  from  the  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  the 
superintendent  of  the  Oregon  Mission.  The  dates  are  the  28th  of 
October  [1843],  and  come  via  Pensecola.  Three  detachments  of  emi- 
grants from  the  Western  section  of  the  United  States  had  arrived  at  the 
Columbia  river,  some  of  whom  had  suffered  severely  by  sickness,  and 
want  of  provisions.  One  man  in  the  last  detachment  had  died  on  the 
way,  and  his  widow  and  four  children  had  arrived  at  the  mission 
station  on  the  Willamette  [the  Columbia]. 

The  emigrants  on  their  arrival  at  the  Willamette  Valley  expressed 
their  surprise  at  finding  the  religious  state  of  the  inhabitants  so  much 
better  than  they  expected  to  find  it.  Many  of  them,  after  their  arrival, 
had  attended  the  ministry  of  the  missionaries  and  had  given  evidence 
of  a  desire  to  change  their  mode  of  life.   Some  had  joined  the  Church 

^^  John  Burch  McClane,  The  First  Wagon  Train  to  Oregon,  MS.  in  Ban- 
croft Library,  pp.  5,  8-9. 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         217 

on  probation,  and  it  was  evident  that  their  example  had  its  eflfect  on 
many  others. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Whitman,  belonging  to  the  American  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, who  recently  visited  the  United  States,  had  returned  to  his  charge 
on  the  Columbia,  in  good  health. 

An  excellent  state  of  Christian  fellowship  pervaded  the  entire  family 
of  the  Methodist  Mission,  and  the  prospects  of  its  success  were  never 
before  so  flattering.  They  have  suffered  both  by  sickness  and  death,  but 
when  these  letters  were  despatched,  Mr.  Lee  says,  those  who  had  been 
sick  were  recovering — Mr.  Brewer  [the  mission  farmer  at  The  Dalles}, 
is  spoken  of  as  having  been  dangerously  ill. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Perkins  [missionary  at  The  Dalles}  had  been  assaulted 
by  one  of  the  Indians  from  the  interior.  The  chiefs  had  assembled  in 
council,  assisted  by  Dr.  White,  the  United  States  [sub-Indian}  agent, 
and  determined  that  the  Indian  should  be  publicly  whipped,  and  he 
received  twenty- five  lashes  [on  October  9,  1843}.  Mr.  Perkins  inter- 
ceded for  the  prisoner  and  was  anxious  that  he  should  be  pardoned,  but 
it  was  thought  that  prudence  required  an  example.^*' 

But  while  these  events  were  taking  place  in  missionary  circles, 
another  series  of  events  was  reaching  its  culmination.  On  July  5, 
1843,  at  a  mass  meeting  of  Willamette  Valley  settlers,  the  pro- 
visional government  for  Oregon  was  ratified.  This  was  the  first 
civil  government  organized  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Affairs  of  the  government.  About  two  years  before  this  aaion 
was  taken,  on  February  7,  1841,  an  informal  conference  of 
Oregon  settlers  was  held  at  Champoeg,  principal  settlement  in  the 
Willamette  Valley,  to  discuss  local  civil  government  for  Oregon. 
Jason  Lee  was  eleaed  chairman  of  this  meeting,  and  delivered  a 
short  speech  to  the  citizens  gathered  there.  J.  Q.  Thornton,  one 
of  Oregon's  earliest  historians,  has  written  this  brief  report  of 
Jasoa  Lee's  part  in  this  historic  little  folkmoot: 

Rev.  Jason  Lee  presided,  and  in  a  short  speech  in  which  his  remarks 

^°  The  above  letter  was  a  front-page  feature  in  the  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts Daily  Evening  Republican,  March  27,  1844.  Copied  from  the  New- York 
Commercial  Advertiser,  March  21,  1844.  The  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Philadelphia,  reported  that  the 
originals  of  these  two  letters  are  missing  from  the  files  of  the  Oregon  Mission 
Records. 


218    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

were  seemingly  carefully  considered,  and  in  a  manner  which  indicated 
that  he  felt  oppressed  by  the  grave  responsibilities  of  the  hour,  he 
advised  the  selection  of  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  drafting  the 
constitution  and  code  of  laws  for  the  government  of  the  settlement 
south  of  the  Columbia.''^ 

By  1843,  however,  Jason  Lee's  political  acumen  made  him 
realize  that  a  local  provisional  government  was  not  the  direaion 
where  lay  Oregon's  true  interest,  and  in  the  extended  struggle  for 
the  establishment  of  American  control  over  Old  Oregon  south 
of  the  Columbia,  he  was  for  long  a  central  figure.  It  will  not  be 
amiss  to  delay  a  bit  at  this  point  in  our  missionary  narrative  to 
tell  a  little  of  the  political  service  rendered  by  this  missionary 
leader  to  his  native  land  and  to  the  land  of  his  adoption. 

When  Jason  Lee  and  his  first  company  of  missionaries  first 
journeyed  to  the  Far  Northwest,  the  Oregon  country  was  being 
administered  under  what  was  known  as  the  Joint  Occupancy  agree- 
ment arranged  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  which 
was  virtually  an  extension,  through  the  Convention  of  1827,  of 
the  Treaty  of  1818.  The  so-called  Boundary  Controversy,  as  a 
political  issue,  covering  as  it  did  nearly  a  half  century  of  time, 
came  only  slowly  to  hold  the  attention  of  the  American  people, 
and  received  but  an  indifferent,  uneven  interest  on  the  part  of  the 
Federal  legislators.  Jason  Lee  played  a  statesman's  part  in  con- 
centrating the  nation's  concern  upon  this  Northwestern  empire. 
As  early  as  1837  an  American  Oregon  was  to  him  a  vital,  burning 
matter. 

Slacum's  memorial.  Nor  was  he  alone  in  this  conviaion.  The 
Methodist  missionaries  in  the  Willamette  Valley  had  for  some 
time  been  aaively  at  work  to  secure  the  proteaion  of  the  United 
States  Government  for  Oregon.^*    Their  first  efforts  bore  fruit 

**J.  Quinn  Thornton,  Oregon  Pioneer  Association,  Transactions,  1875, 
p.  50.  The  fundamental  documentary  work  on  Lee's  early  aaivities  for  a 
Provisional  Government  is  LaFayette  Grover  (comp.),  The  Oregon  Archives 
(Salem,  1853),  pp.   5-38. 

^^  Evidence  of  this  may  be  found  in  the  petitions  or  memorials  that  were 
sent  to  Congress.  Two  such  were  prepared  and  sent,  not  including  the 
Shortess  petition  of  1843. 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         219 

in  the  form  of  a  memorial  setting  forth  this  desire,  information 
for  which  was  furnished  by  both  the  French  and  American  set- 
tlers in  the  valley.  When  Lieutenant  Slacum  left  Oregon  in 
January,  1837,  he  soon  began  the  preparation  of  his  Memorial, 
and  on  December  18,  1837,  presented  a  full  report  of  his  Oregon 
expedition  to  the  United  States  Congress.  This  report  aroused 
a  deep  interest  in  the  country  he  described  and  encouraged  the 
efforts  of  Senator  Lewis  Linn  and  others  to  persuade  Congress 
to  extend  its  protection  over  the  jointly  occupied  area.*'  Lee  was 
the  central  figure  in  furnishing  Slacum  with  first-hand  informa- 
tion for  his  Oregon  memorial  and  was  the  earliest  resident  to 
cooperate  with  an  official  of  the  Federal  Government  in  a  pro- 
gram for  the  Americanization  of  Oregon. 

But  even  more  effeaive  than  this  memorial  as  a  plea  for  the 
extension  of  American  jurisdiaion  over  Oregon  was  the  Set- 
tlers' Petition  drawn  at  the  little  log  mission  house  on  the 
Willamette  on  March  16,  1838.  This  famous  pioneer  document 
was  inspired  by  Jason  Lee  and  drafted  by  Philip  L.  Edwards,  a 
member  of  Lee's  first  mission  party.  It  was  signed  by  every  mem- 
ber of  the  mission,  by  seventeen  other  American  citizens,  nearly 
the  total  number  then  in  the  country,  and  by  nine  French  Can- 
adians who  desired  to  become  American  citizens.  Lee  carried  this 
petition  on  horseback  from  Oregon  to  the  Missouri  frontier  in  a 
little  trunk  strapped  to  his  horse's  side.  From  Missouri  to  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  it  was  borne  in  safety  over  rivers,  around  the  Great 
Lakes,  over  canals,  and  along  the  primitive  stage  routes  of  one 
hundred  years  ago.  In  late  December,  1838,  when  Lee  was  meet- 
ing his  missionary  appointments  at  the  Federal  capital,  he  trans- 
mitted the  memorial  to  Senator  Linn,**  who  in  turn  presented  it 
to  the  Senate  on  January  28,  1839,  when  it  was  ordered  printed. 
Thus  was  accomplished  Lee's  second  important  political  service 
to  Oregon. 

Tbe    Oregon    memorial    of    1838.     This    memorial    was    a 

*'Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  p.  144;  also  "Slacum's  Report  on 
Oregon,  1836-1837,"  Oregon  Historical  Quarterly,  XIII,  pp.  175-224. 

^*E.  A.  Linn  and  N.  Sargent,  Life  and  Public  Services  of  Lewis  P.  Linn 
(New  York,   1857),  p.  224. 


220    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

clear,  well-written  statement  of  the  value  of  the  Oregon  country. 
In  it  Congress  was  urged  to  assert  its  rights  over  the  distant  region. 
One  of  its  stirring  paragraphs  reads: 

Our  interests  are  identified  with  the  country  of  our  adoption.  We 
flatter  ourselves  that  we  are  the  germ  of  a  great  state,  and  are  anxious 
to  give  an  early  tone  to  the  moral  and  intellectual  character  of  its 
citizens.  We  are  fully  aware,  too,  that  the  destinies  of  our  posterity  will 
be  intimately  affected  by  the  character  of  those  who  emigrate  to  the 
country.  The  territory  must  populate.  The  Congress  of  the  United 
States  must  say  by  whom.  ...  By  the  reckless  and  unprincipled  adven- 
turer, by  the  Botany  Bay  refugee;  the  wanderer  from  South  America; 
the  deserting  seamen;  or  by  our  own  hardy  and  enterprising  pioneers.^ ^ 

A  clear  statement  of  the  favorable  commercial  position  of 
Oregon  was  made,  and  its  relation  to  a  future  commerce  with  the 
Orient  and  with  South  and  Central  America  explained.  California, 
with  its  Golden  Gate,  was,  at  this  time,  a  sleepy  Mexican  province 
and  all  of  our  Western  possessions,  save  those  in  Oregon,  were 
landlocked.  But  Oregon  fronted  the  broad  Pacific  and  looked  out 
southward  and  westward  upon  destinies  unknown.  After  this 
statesmanlike  presentation  of  the  economic  resources  and  com- 
mercial advantages  of  Oregon,  a  vigorous  appeal  was  made  that 
"the  Government  of  the  United  States  take  formal  and  speedy 
possession."  ^^ 

This  memorable  pioneer  document  is  deemed  of  sufficient  in- 
terest and  historical  importance  to  justify  its  reproduaion  in  full: 

January  28,  1839. 
To  the  honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America: 

The  undersigned,  settlers  south  of  the  Columbia  River,  beg  leave  to 
represent  to  your  honorable  body: 

^^Congressional  Globe,  VII,  p.  141;  J.  Henry  Brown,  Brown's  Political 
History  of  Oregon  (Portland,  1892),  pp.  54-56.  The  statement  frequently  ap- 
pears that  an  Oregon  settlers'  memorial,  framed  as  'early  as  1837,  was  given 
Slacum  to  present  to  Congress.  Careful  search  in  Federal  departments  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  fails  to  discover  such  a  document.  See  Lee  and  Frost,  Ten  Years 
in  Oregon,  p.  144. 

^^  Congressional  Globe,  VII,  p.  14 1, 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         221 

Fertile  and  Attractive  Region. — That  our  settlement  began  in  the 
year  1832,  and  has  hitherto  prospered  beyond  the  most  sanguine  ex- 
peaations  of  its  first  projectors.  The  products  of  our  fields  have  amply 
justified  the  most  flattering  descriptions  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil, 
while  the  facilities  which  it  affords  for  rearing  cattle  are,  perhaps, 
exceeded  by  those  of  no  country  in  North  America.  The  people  of 
the  United  States,  we  believe,  are  not  generally  apprized  of  the  extent 
of  valuable  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  A  large  portion  of 
the  territory  from  the  Columbia  River,  south,  to  the  boundary  line 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Mexican  republic,  and  extending 
from  the  coast  of  the  Pacific  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three 
hundred  miles  to  the  interior,  is  either  well  supplied  with  timber  or 
adapted  to  pasturage  or  agriculture.  The  fertile  valleys  of  the  Walla- 
mette  and  Umpqua  are  varied  with  prairies  and  woodland,  and  inter- 
sected by  abundant  lateral  streams,  presenting  facilities  for  machinery. 
Perhaps  no  country  of  the  same  latitude  is  favored  with  a  climate  so 
mild.  The  winter  rains,  it  is  true,  are  an  objection;  but  they  are  gen- 
erally preferred  to  the  snows  and  intense  cold  which  prevail  in  the 
northern  parts  of  the  United  States.  The  ground  is  seldom  covered 
with  snow,  nor  does  it  ever  remain  but  a  few  hours. 

Commercial  Advantages. — We  need  hardly  allude  to  the  commercial 
advantages  of  the  territory.  Its  happy  position  for  trade  with  China, 
India,  and  the  western  coasts  of  America  will  be  readily  recognised. 
The  growing  importance,  however,  of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  is  not 
so  generally  known  and  appreciated.  As  these  islands  progress  in 
civilization,  their  demand  for  the  produce  of  more  northern  climates 
will  increase.  Nor  can  any  country  supply  them  with  beef,  flour,  &c., 
on  terms  so  advantageous  as  this.  A  very  successful  effort  has  been 
recently  made  at  the  Sandwich  islands,  in  the  cultivation  of  coffee  and 
the  sugar  cane.  A  colony  here  will,  in  time,  thence  easily  derive  these 
articles  and  other  tropical  products,  in  exchange  for  the  produce  of 
their  own  labor. 

Should  Take  Speedy  Possession. — ^We  have  thus  briefly  alluded  to 
the  natural  resources  of  the  country  and  to  its  external  relations.  They 
are,  in  our  opinion,  strong  inducements  for  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  to  take  formal  and  speedy  possession.  We  urge  this  step, 
as  promising  to  the  general  interests  of  the  nation ;  but  the  advantages 
it  may  confer  upon  us,  and  the  evils  it  may  avert  from  our  posterity, 
are  incalculable. 


222    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Dependence  upon  Hudson's  Bay  Company. — Our  social  intercourse 
has  thus  far  been  prosecuted  with  reference  to  feelings  of  honor,  to  the 
feeling  of  dependence  on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  to  their 
moral  influence.  Under  this  state  of  things,  we  have  thus  far  pros- 
pered; but  we  cannot  hope  that  it  will  continue.  The  agricultural  and 
other  resources  of  the  country  cannot  fail  to  induce  emigration  and 
commerce.  As  our  settlement  begins  to  draw  its  supplies  through  other 
channels,  the  feeling  of  dependence  upon  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
to  which  we  have  alluded  as  one  of  the  safeguards  of  our  social  inter- 
course, will  begin  to  diminish.  We  are  anxious  when  we  imagine  what 
will  be — what  must  be — the  condition  of  so  mixed  a  community,  free 
from  all  legal  restraint,  and  superior  to  that  moral  influence  which  has 
hitherto  been  the  pledge  of  our  safety. 

Germ  of  a  Great  State. — Our  interests  are  identified  with  those  of 
the  country  of  our  adoption.  We  flatter  ourselves  that  we  are  the 
germe  of  a  great  State,  and  are  anxious  to  give  an  early  tone  to  the 
moral  and  intellectual  charaaer  of  its  citizens.  We  are  fully  aware,  too, 
that  the  destinies  of  our  posterity  will  be  intimately  aflfected  by  the 
character  of  those  who  emigrate  to  the  country.  The  territory  must 
populate.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States  must  say  by  whom.  The 
natural  resources  of  the  country,  with  a  well-judged  civil  code,  will  in- 
vite a  good  community;  but  a  good  community  will  hardly  emigrate 
to  a  country  which  promises  no  proteaion  to  life  or  property.  Inquiries 
have  already  been  submitted  to  some  of  us,  for  information  of  the 
country.  In  return,  we  can  only  speak  of  a  country  highly  favored  by 
nature.  We  can  boast  of  no  civil  code.  We  can  promise  no  protection 
but  the  ulterior  resort  of  self-defense.  By  whom,  then,  shall  the  country 
be  populated?  By  the  reckless  and  unprincipled  adventurer — not  by 
the  hardy  and  enterprising  pioneer  of  the  West;  by  the  Botany  Bay 
refugee ;  by  the  renegade  of  civilization  from  the  Rocky  mountains ;  by 
the  profligate  deserted  seamen  from  Polynesia;  and  the  unprincipled 
sharpers  from  Spanish  America.  Well  are  we  assured  that  it  will  cost 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  more  to  reduce  elements  so  dis- 
cordant to  social  order,  than  to  promote  our  permanent  peace  and 
prosperity  by  a  timely  action  of  Congress.  Nor  can  we  suppose  that  so 
vicious  a  population  could  be  relied  on  in  case  of  a  rupture  between  the 
United  States  and  any  other  Power. 

Whites  and  Indians. — Our  intercourse  with  the  natives  among  us, 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE 


223 


guided  much  by  the  same  influence  which  has  promoted  harmony 
among  ourselves,  has  been  generally  pacific  but  the  same  causes  which 
will  interrupt  harmony  among  ourselves  will  also  interrupt  our  friendly 
relations  with  the  natives.  It  is,  therefore,  of  primary  importance, 
both  to  them  and  us,  that  the  Government  should  take  energetic 
measures  to  secure  the  execution  of  all  laws  affecting  Indian  trade  and 
the  intercourse  of  white  men  and  Indians. 

Confidence  in  Federal  Government. — ^We  have  thus  briefly  shown 
that  the  security  of  our  persons  and  our  property,  the  hopes  and  des- 
tinies of  our  children,  are  involved  in  the  objeas  of  our  petition.  We 
do  not  presume  to  suggest  the  manner  in  which  the  country  should  be 
occupied  by  the  Government,  nor  the  extent  to  which  our  settlement 
should  be  encouraged.  We  confide  in  the  wisdom  of  our  national  legis- 
lators, and  leave  the  subjea  to  their  candid  deliberations.  And  your 
petitioners  will  ever  pray. 

March  16,  1838. 


J.  S.  [L.]  Whitcomb 

James  A.  O'Neal  [O'Neil] 

J.  M.  Bates 

Wm.  Canning 

John  B.  Deporles  [Desportes] 

his  X  mark 
Joseph  Gervais,  his  X  mark 
Felix  Hathaway 
S.  H.  Smith 
Ewing  Young 
P.  L.  Edwards 
W.  H.  Willson 
W.  J.  Hainhust  [Hauxhurst] 
Jason  Lee 
Cyrus  Shepard 
Alanson  Beers 
David  Leslie 
Charles  Rae  [Roe] 
John  Rowling 

^'' House  Report  101,  H.  R.  [Supplemental  Report]  Appendix  H.,  25 
Cong.,  3  Sess.,  pp.  4,  5,  6.  To  simplify  the  reading,  the  author  has  introduced 
the  above  headings. 


Xavier  Ludevant  [Laderout] 

T.  J.  Hubbard 

Samuel  G.  Campbell 

John  P.  Edmunds  [Pickernell] 

Elijah  White 

Calvin  Tibbets  [Tibbetts] 

William  Johnson 

Henry  Wood 

Elisha  Ezekiel 

Daniel  Lee 

H.  K.  W.  Perkins 

Joseph  Delord  [De  Lor] 

Pierre  Billique 

Andre  Picord 

Joseph  Delozhe  [Deloze] 

John  [Jean]  B.  Perault  [Perrault] 

Ellienne  Lucia  [fitienne  Lucier] 

John  Turner  *^ 


224   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Lee's  letter  to  Representative  Cushing.  Representative  Caleb 
Gushing/^  member  of  the  House  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs, 
requested  Lee,  as  an  actual  resident  for  nearly  four  years  of  the 
jointly  occupied  area,  to  send  him  definite  information  concerning 
that  remote  region.  He  desired  specific  faas  concerning  the  total 
population  of  Oregon,  the  classes  that  comprised  it,  and  the  objeas 
of  Lee's  Mission.  Lee's  reply  is  an  historic  utterance  and  deserves 
extended  mention.^" 

The  number  of  persons  conneaed  with  the  Mission,  he  stated, 
was  forty-five,  but  the  contemplated  reinforcement  of  the  coming 
autumn  would  bring  the  total  to  seventy.  His  estimate  proved  to 
be  a  conservative  one,  as  the  Lausanne  group  aaually  increased  the 
Lee  Methodist  Mission  population  to  seventy-seven.  In  1839, 
wrote  Lee,  there  were  sixteen  persons  in  Oregon  representing  the 
American  Board.  He  estimated  that  there  were  forty-five  settlers 
in  the  Willamette  Valley,  with  Indian  wives  and  half-breed  chil- 
dren, and  ventured  the  prediaion  that  the  spring  immigration  of 
1840  would  bring  twenty  additional  settlers  from  the  Eastern 
states.  He  declared  that  one  objea  of  the  Methodist  Mission  was 
to  improve  the  condition  of  the  Indians  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains. 

In  the  closing  paragraphs  of  his  letter,  Lee  explained  to  Cush- 
ing  what  had  come  to  be  another  main  objea  of  his  Oregon 

**  Caleb  Gushing,  Oregon's  congressional  friend,  was  a  well-known  public 
man,  and  a  member  of  the  maritime  firm  of  Gushing  and  Gompany.  His  home 
was  in  Newburyport,  and  Lee,  on  his  Washington,  D.  G.,  and  Newburyport 
visits  in  1838  and  1839  was  successful  in  interesting  this  company  in  the 
possibilities  of  profitable  trading  relations  with  Oregon.  In  1840,  Gaptain 
John  H.  Gouch,  a  representative  of  the  Gushings,  arrived  in  Oregon  on  the 
brig  Maryland.  Here  he  undertook  to  lay  the  foundations  of  future  maritime 
trade,  based  mainly  on  the  salmon  industry.  Attraaed  by  the  economic  oppor- 
tunities of  the  new  region,  Gouch  returned  to  Oregon  in  1842  on  the  Gushing 
brig  Chenamus,  and  later  became  one  of  Oregon's  prominent  residents.  He 
established  a  land  claim  on  the  ^\tt  of  the  city  of  Portland  and  gradually  built 
up  a  good-sized  fortune.  His  Portland  residence  was  one  of  the  earliest  suuc- 
tures  ereaed  in  what  is  now  the  attractive  metropolis  of  Oregon.  Bancroft, 
History  of  Oregon,  I,  p.  221  and  passim;  Joseph  Gaston,  Portland,  Oregon; 
Its  History  and  Btulders  (Ghicago,  1911),  II,  pp.  374-376;  Lewis  and  Dryden, 
Marine  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  (Portland,  Oregon,  1895),  p.  19. 

^^  H.  R.  Report  No.  101,  25  Gong.,  3  Sess.,  pp.  3,  4. 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         225 

missionary  enterprise;  namely,  to  promote  the  peopling  of  Oregon 
with  permanent  white  settlers.  The  letter  is  a  masterly  statement 
that  reveals  a  statesman's  grasp  and  foresight.  It  is  reproduced 
in  full: 

Middletown,  (Conn.,)  January  17,  1839. 

Sir:  In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  send  you,  herewith,  a  brief 

statement  of  our  enterprise  in  Oregon,  and  of  the  prospects  and  wants 

of  the  country. 

We  have  now  in  our  mission  in  Oregon,  of  all  ages  and 

both  sexes 25  persons 

We  are  about  to  reinforce  the  mission  with,  say  .......  45  more 

Total 70 

Attached  to  the  mission  of  the  American  Board 16 

Settlers  going  out  from  the  Western  States  in  the  spring, 

missionaries  and  others,  say 20 

In  addition,  there  are  about  45  men  in  the  country,  settled 

as  farmers,  most  of  them  married  to  Indian  women,  and 

some  of  them  with  children  full  grown 45 

Making  in  all, 151 


The  greater  portion  of  those  attached  to  the  Methodist  mission  are 
farmers,  mechanics,  teachers,  and  physicians.  The  exclusive  objea  of 
the  mission  is  the  benefit  of  the  Indian  tribes  west  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains. But  to  accomplish  this  object,  it  is  found  necessary  to  cultivate 
the  soil,  erect  dwelling-houses  and  school-houses,  build  mills,  and  in 
fact,  introduce  all  the  necessaries  and  helps  of  a  civilized  colony;  and 
this  more  especially,  as  one  of  the  principal  means  relied  upon  for  the 
improvement  of  the  natives  is  the  establishment  of  extensive  manual 
labor  schools  for  Indian  children  and  youth. 

It  is  believed  that,  if  the  Government  of  the  United  States  takes  such 
measures,  in  respea  to  this  territory,  as  will  secure  the  rights  of  the 
settlers,  most  of  those  who  are  now  attached  to  the  mission  will  remain 
as  permanent  settlers  in  the  country,  after  the  mission  may  no  longer 
need  their  services.  Hence  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  ours,  in  con- 
nection with  the  other  settlers  already  there,  is  the  commencement  of 


226   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

a  permanent  settlement  of  the  country.  In  view  of  this,  it  will  be 
readily  seen  that  we  need  two  things  at  the  hand  of  Government,  for 
our  proteaion  and  prosperity: 

First.  We  need  a  guarantee  from  Government  that  the  possession  of 
the  land  we  take  up,  and  the  improvements  we  make  upon  it,  will  be 
secured  to  us.  These  settlements  will  greatly  increase  the  value  of  the 
Government  domain  in  that  country,  should  the  Indian  title  ever  be 
extinguished.  And  we  cannot  but  expect,  therefore,  that  those  who 
have  been  pioneers  in  this  arduous  work  will  be  liberally  dealt  with 
in  this  matter. 

Secondly.  We  need  the  authority  and  protection  of  the  Government 
and  laws  of  the  United  States,  to  regulate  the  intercourse  of  the  set- 
tlers with  each  other,  to  protea  them  against  the  peculations  and 
aggressions  of  the  Indians,  and  to  protea  the  Indians  against  the 
aggressions  of  the  white  settlers. 

To  secure  these  objects,  it  is  not  supposed  that  much  of  a  military 
force  will  be  necessary.  If  a  suitable  person  should  be  sent  out  as  a 
civil  magistrate  and  governor  of  the  territory,  the  settlers  would  sustain 
his  authority.  In  proof  of  this,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  almost 
all  the  settlers  in  the  Wallamette  valley  have  signed  a  memorial  to 
Congress,  praying  that  body  to  extend  the  United  States  Government 
over  the  territory. 

It  is  especially  desirable  that  the  introduction  of  ardent  spirits  into 
the  country  should  be  prevented.  These,  as  all  know,  are  ruinous  to 
the  white  man  and  the  Indian.  The  temperance  movement  in  the  set- 
tlement you  are  already  apprized  of.  Now,  the  settlers  do  not  desire 
the  importation  or  manufacture  of  spirits;  and  if  the  mercenary  and 
evil-minded  are  prevented  from  introducing  them,  the  natives  and  the 
emigrants  will  be  saved  from  this  desolating  scourge. 

You  are  aware,  sir,  that  there  is  no  law  in  that  country  to  protect 
or  control  American  citizens.  And  to  whom  shall  we  look,  to  whom 
can  we  look,  for  the  establishment  of  wholesome  laws  to  regulate  our 
infant  but  rising  settlements,  but  to  the  Congress  of  our  own  beloved 
country.?  The  country  will  be  settled,  and  that  speedily,  from  some 
quarter;  and  it  depends  very  much  upon  the  speedy  action  of  Con- 
gress what  that  population  shall  be,  and  what  shall  be  the  fate  of  the 
Indian  tribes  in  that  territory.  It  may  be  thought  that  Oregon  is 
of  little  importance;  but,  rely  upon  it,  there  is  the  germ  of  a  great 
State. 


PREGNANT  EVENTS  FOR  THE  FUTURE         227 

We  are  resolved  to  do  what  we  can  to  benefit  the  country;  but  we 
are  constrained  to  throw  ourselves  upon  you  for  protection. 
I  am,  sir,  with  great  respect,  yours,  truly, 

Jason  Lee.^" 
Hon.  C.  Gushing. 

In  order  to  round  out  this  story  of  Oregon's  determination  to 
become  a  part  of  the  United  States,  a  brief  account  is  given  of  the 
third  Oregon  memorial  to  Congress,  the  David  Leslie  Petition 
of  1839. 

During  the  autumn  of  1839,  while  Lee  was  concluding  his 
three  Eastern  and  Southern  missionary  tours,  a  significant  political 
event  was  being  consummated  at  his  remote  mission  house.  David 
Leslie,  aaing  superintendent  of  the  Willamette  Mission  during 
Lee's  absence  and  Lee's  close  and  trusted  friend,  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Thomas  J.  Farnham  Oregon's  second  memorial.  In  this 
document  loyal  Americans  pleaded  for  the  termination  of  British 
and  Hudson's  Bay  control  over  Oregon  and  lauded  the  economic 
possibilities  and  general  attractions  of  the  land  of  their  adoption. 
They  "prayed"  for  the  immediate  extension  of  American  juris- 
diaion  over  Oregon  and  for  its  creation  as  a  territory.  This 
vigorous  and  patriotic  document  Farnham  carried  to  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  and  on  June  4,  1840,  it  was  presented  to  the  United 
States  Senate  by  that  stalwart  friend  of  Oregon,  Lewis  F.  Linn. 

To  Jason  Lee,  then,  belongs  the  distinaion  of  having  been  the 

leading  figure  in  the  framing  and  submitting  of  Oregon's  first 

memorial.    Equally  to  his  credit  is  the  honor  of  having  written, 

to  become  a  part  of  Caleb  Cushing's  scholarly  congressional  report, 

of  which  10,000  copies  were  printed,  one  of  the  really  effective 

letters  which  helped  to  win  the  great  Pacific  Northwest  for  the 

United  States.    Deserving  of  remembrance,  also,  is  the  spirited 

action  of  his  distant  colleagues,  who,  voicing  the  sentiment  of 

their  absent  leader,  presented  their  plea  for  an  American  Oregon 

to   "The  Honorable  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives   in 

Congress  assembled." 

'**  Jason  Lee  letter  to  Caleb  Gushing.  House  Report,  No.  101,  {Supple- 
mental  Report']  Appendix  H,  H.  R.  25,  Cong.,  3d  Sess.,  pp.  3,  4. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST 

Misrepresentation  and  misunderstanding.  After  Lee's  return 
from  his  Wascopam  voyage  in  early  November,  1843,  for  several 
reasons  he  decided  to  make  another  journey  East.  His  leading  pur- 
pose, no  doubt,  was  a  desire  to  hold  a  personal  conference  with 
his  Mission  Board.  His  letters  to  his  board  written  during  the 
years  1842  and  1843  show  that  he  was  aware  that  the  Board  of 
Managers  of  his  Missionary  Society  was  not  sympathetic.  He  was 
also  conscious  that  reports  from  disaffeaed  returning  missionaries 
such  as  Dr.  Ehjah  White,  Rev.  W.  W.  Kone,  and  Dr.  John  P. 
Richmond  could  not  be  other  than  damaging  to  the  Oregon  Mis- 
sion and  its  superintendent,  and  he  hoped  that  a  personal  confer- 
ence might  regain  for  him  the  unwavering  support  he  had  enjoyed 
up  to  1840. 

Lee  was  likewise  convinced  that  the  home  office  of  his  Mission- 
ary Society,  situated  on  the  opposite  side  of  a  vast  continent,  could 
not  possibly  understand  the  new  Oregon  missionary  problems,  nor 
realize  that,  in  the  valley  of  the  Willamette,  a  declining  Indian 
race  had  been  supplanted  by  a  bustling  crowd  of  American  pioneer 
settlers.  Furthermore,  the  joint  occupancy  convention  of  1827 
was  soon  to  be  terminated  by  Congress,  and  Lee  felt  that,  as  an 
Oregon  resident  and  the  informed  head  of  the  Oregon  Methodist 
Mission,  he  was  in  a  position  to  present  effectively  the  arguments 
in  support  of  valid  land  titles  for  his  several  mission  claims  before 
the  proper  congressional  officials.  It  was  important,  in  view  of 
all  these  conditions,  that  his  board  at  New  York  City  should  be 
made  aware  of  the  immense  future  value  of  their  fertile  Willa- 
mette Valley  land  properties. 

Lee  also  hoped  to  obtain  an  endowment  from  Congress  for  his 
Indian  Manual  Labor  Mission  School  and,   as  well,   a  federal 

228 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         229 

appropriation  for  the  Oregon  Institute.  This  little  school  was  the 
only  institution  in  the  Oregon  country  which  made  provision  for 
the  higher  education  of  white  children.  With  the  constantly 
increasing  influx  of  settlers,  such  an  institution  would  offer  the 
opportunities  for  higher  education  certain  to  be  demanded  by  the 
new  settlers  from  the  Eastern  States.^ 

Passage  was  therefore  engaged  for  Lee  and  his  only  daughter, 
Lucy  Anna  Maria  Lee,  now  nearly  two  years  old,  on  the  English 
bark  Columbia  which,  early  in  1844,  was  to  sail  from  Vancouver 
for  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Among  his  fellow  passengers  were  the 
Rev.  Gustavus  Hines,  his  wife,  Mrs.  Julia  Hines,  and  child. ^ 

Last  days.  Just  at  dusk  on  a  late  November  evening  in  1843, 
Jason  Lee  bade  farewell  to  his  Qiemeketa  friends  and  associates. 
At  Fort  Vancouver  he  visited  Dr.  McLoughlin.  After  the  neces- 
sary business  incident  to  his  departure  had  been  transaaed  and  the 
farewells  had  been  spoken  to  Fort  Vancouver  friends,  Jason  Lee 
on  December  11  began  his  second  journey  to  "The  States."  ^ 

The  Lee  party  descended  the  Columbia  River  in  canoes,  and 
arrived  at  Fort  George  at  noon  on  December  19,  1843.  Mr.  Birnie 
received  them  cordially  and  entertained  them  until  the  following 
day.  On  December  20,  J.  L.  Parrish  conveyed  Lee  and  his  party 
in  his  large  mission  canoe  to  the  Clatsop  Mission  house.  Here  they 
were  the  guests  of  the  Parrish  family.  On  December  21,  a  notice 
from  Captain  Humphries,  of  the  Columbia  was  received,  stating 
that  the  vessel  had  arrived  at  Fort  George.  This  announcement 
meant  the  abrupt  termination  of  Lee's  pleasant  visit  with  the 
Parrishes.  In  a  cart  belonging  to  the  mission  the  party  traveled  as 
far  as  the  river,  where  Parrish  overtook  them  and  transported 
them  in  his  canoe  across  Young's  Bay  to  Fort  George.  On  Sunday, 

*  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  pp.  282-293. 

^  Another  member  of  Lee's  party  was  John  Ricord,  a  tall,  commanding,  and 
somewhat  pompous  New  York  State  attorney,  who  had  recently  arrived  in 
Oregon  as  a  member  of  the  immigration  of  1843.  During  the  autumn  of 
1843,  Ricord  had  served  as  legal  adviser  to  Rev.  A.  F.  Waller  at  Willamette 
Falls  in  connection  with  Waller's  controversy  with  Dr.  McLoughlin  over  land 
claims  at  and  near  the  site  of  the  Falls.  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  I,  pp.  211, 
212;  F.  V.  Holman,  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  pp.  107,  108;  and  the  present 
work,   Appendix  IIL 

*  Hines,  Missionary  Expedition  to  Oregon,  pp.  192,  193. 


230   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

December  24,  Lee  was  again  the  guest  of  his  old  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  friend,  James  Birnie.  On  Christmas  Day  he  boarded 
the  Columbia,  and  on  December  26  the  ship  dropped  down  to 
Baker's  Bay  to  await  a  favoring  breeze  that  would  carry  them 
safely  across  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  They  were 
forced  to  lie  at  anchor  in  the  bay  for  over  a  month  because  of  a 
strong  southeast  wind  and  storms  which  delayed  departure.  At 
last,  on  February  3,  1844,  after  much  difficulty,  the  bar  of  the 
Columbia  was  crossed  and  Jason  Lee  took  what  proved  to  be  his 
last  look  at  the  receding  shores  of  Oregon.* 

Sandwich  Islands.  After  a  voyage  of  twenty-four  days  the  head- 
lands of  the  island  of  Maui  were  sighted.  Ocean  gales  of  unusual 
violence  for  that  season  and  latitude  had  retarded  their  passage. 
On  the  morning  of  February  27  the  island  of  Oahu  was  reached, 
and  the  trade  winds  safely  wafted  the  ship  past  Diamond  Head 
into  the  shelter  of  Honolulu  Bay.  Shortly  after  casting  anchor 
here.  Dr.  Ira  L.  Babcock,  the  former  Willamette  Mission  physi- 
cian, came  aboard  the  ship.  He  had  been  in  Honolulu  for  his 
health  since  September,  1843,  but  was  on  the  eve  of  returning 
to  Oregon  to  resume  his  missionary  duties.  He  invited  Lee  and 
the  Hines  family  ashore,  and  conduaed  them  to  his  temporary 
residence,  the  house  of  John  Colcord,  where  Lee  lodged  during 
his  unexpeaedly  brief  Honolulu  stay." 

Lee  superseded  by  Rev.  George  Gary.    At  Honolulu  Lee  was 

astounded  to  learn  that,  without  a  hearing  by  his  board,  he  had 

been  superseded  as  Oregon  Mission  superintendent  by  the  Rev. 

George  Gary,  of  the  Black  River  Conference,  New  York.    Lee 

received  this  startling  news  from  Dr.  Babcock,  who  also  informed 

him  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gary  was  already  on  his  way  to  Oregon  by 

the  usual  ocean  route,  around  Cape  Horn.   On  Tuesday,  February 

27,  the  day  of  Lee's  arrival,  a  hurried,  anxious  conference  was 

held  at  the  house  of  John  Colcord,  participated  in  by  Jason  Lee, 

Gustavus  Hines,  and  Dr.  Babcock.    The  decision  finally  reached 

was  that  Jason  Lee  should  continue  his  journey  to  the  United 

States. 

*  Hines,  Missionary  Expedition  to  Oregon,  pp.  196-198. 
*lbid.,  pp.  202,  203. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         231 

Alone  to  the  United  States.  The  next  problem  was  to  obtain 
transportation  to  New  York  City.  From  the  aaing  American  con- 
sul, William  Hooper,  Lee  learned  that  no  vessel  would  be  leaving 
the  Sandwich  Islands  for  the  United  States  for  several  months. 
The  consul  informed  him,  however,  that  a  small  schooner,  belong- 
ing to  the  Hawaiian  Government,  was  leaving  Honolulu  for 
Mexico  the  following  day  [February  28,  1844}.  This  vessel,  the 
Hoa  Tita,  could  accommodate  only  one  passenger.  With  the  stoical 
manner  that  charaaerized  the  man,  Jason  Lee  decided  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  opportunity  open  to  him  for  an  early  return  to  the 
United  States.  With  measureless  grief,  he  said  what  proved  to  be 
a  last  farewell  to  his  only  daughter,  Lucy  Lee,  and  on  February  28, 
1844,  sailed  from  Honolulu  for  the  coast  of  Mexico.^ 

Jason  Lee's  will.  Before  embarking  on  the  Hoa  Tita  and  while 
still  at  the  "Port  of  Honolulu,"  Jason  Lee,  on  February  28,  1844, 
made  his  will.  The  will  is  carefully  drawn  and  refleas  the  caution 
and  deliberate  nature  of  the  testator.  This  interesting  document 
consists  of  six  provisions  and  a  codicil.  The  will  and  codicil  were 
both  witnessed  by  Dr.  Ira  L.  Babcock,  Willamette  Mission  physi- 
cian, and  Dr.  W.  J.  Bailey,  a  resident  of  the  Willamette  Valley. 
Lee  selected  as  the  administrators  of  his  estate  Alvin  F.  Waller 
and  Gustavus  Hines.  Waller  was  to  administer  that  portion  of 
Lee's  estate  located  in  Old  Oregon;  Hines  was  to  be  the  executor 
of  Lee's  property  situated  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Specific  reference  is  made  to  the  appointment  of  a  guardian  for 
Lee's  two-year-old  daughter,  Lucy  Anna  Maria  Lee.  In  his  will, 
Lee  appointed  two  guardians,  George  Abernethy  and  Gustavus 
Hines,  but  in  the  codicil,  also  drawn  at  Honolulu  and  dated 
February  28,  1844,  and  listing  the  names  of  the  same  witnesses, 
he  revoked  the  appointment  of  Abernethy  as  guardian  and  con- 
fers the  guardianship  "solely  upon  said  Gustavus  Hines,  and  in 
no  event  upon  the  said  George  Abernethy." 

Lee's  careful  plans  for  the  education  of  his  daughter  find 
expression  in  this  intensely  "human"  provision: 

[His  executors  shall  use  the  proceeds  of  his  estate]  "to  instruct  her 

*  Hines,  Missionary  Expedition  to  Oregon,  p.  204. 


232   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

in  all  the  useful  and  ornamental  branches  of  education  suited  to  her 
sex."  ' 

Readable,  too,  is  the  provision  which  makes  a  specific  reference 
to  the  items  that  constituted  his  entire  property,  which  Lee  de- 
clared to  be  about  $2,500,  and  consisting  of  cattle,  horses,  furni- 
ture, promissory  notes,  and  other  chattels.   The  clause  reads: 

For  the  guidance  of  my  executor  in  executing  this  my  last  Will,  I 
make  known  and  declare  that  at  the  day  of  the  date  hereof  [February 
28,  1844]  I  am  possessed  in  absolute  property,  and  in  my  own  right 
of  a  band  of  tame  Cattle  consisting  of  twenty-one  in  number,  and  of  a 
Band  of  Horses  consisting  of  twenty  in  number,  which  two  several 
bands  will  be  found  rimning  at  large  at  or  near  the  Wa[i]llamette 
Settlement,  and  some  of  which  are  branded  with  the  Letters  "JL/' 
some  with  the  letter  "M"[ission}  and  some  entirely  unbranded,  but  all 
of  which  are  well  known  and  easily  identified.  Also  that  I  am  in  like 
manner  further  possessed  of  Household  Furniture,  Promissory  Notes 
and  other  chattels.  Amounting  in  value  to  about  the  sum  of  Two 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  all  of  which  will  be  found  on  the 
premises  and  in  the  buildings  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  Methodist 
Mission  where  I  now  reside,  and  in  money  in  my  actual  possession.® 

Letter  ta  Abernethy.  After  a  voyage  of  nearly  a  month  in 
southern  Pacific  waters  Lee  began  this  long,  friendly  letter  to  his 
close  personal  friend  and  colleague,  George  Abernethy,  a  future 
Governor  of  the  Provisional  Government  of  Oregon: 

On  Board  the  Hooikaika  [Hoa  Tito] 
Lat  34  dg  N.  Long  130  W 
Mar.  21,  1844 
My  dear  Bro. 

I  have  been  2  or  3  days  nearer  you,  but  we  are  doing  our  best  to  g^t 
away  to  the  southward  at  the  present,  but  the  wind  having  failed  us, 
we  are  tossing  about  here  to  no  purpose.   The  voyage  from  Oahu  has 

'  First  will  and  codicil  of  Jason  Lee  in  Jason  Lee  Manuscript  Collection, 
Oregon  Historical  Society,  Portland,  Oregon,  p.  13. 

*  First  will  and  codicil  of  Jason  Lee  in  Jason  Lee  Manuscript  Collection, 
Oregon  Historical  Society,  Portland,  Oregon.  Lee  made  a  second  will  at  Stan- 
stead,  on  February  20,  1845,  only  twenty-two  days  before  his  death.  His  second 
will  contains  several  new  provisions  and  is  reproduced  in  full  in  Appendix  V. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         233 

thus  far  been  as  pleasant  as  we  could  expect,  providing  always  we  look 
for  head- winds  and  calms.  Before  you  receive  this  Bro.  Hines  will 
have  told  you  of  all  that  led  to  our  separation,  viz.,  that  there  was  only 
room  for  me,  and  I  assure  you  we  have  little  to  spare. 

This  is  the  first  time  I  have  taken  pen  since  I  left  Oahu,  and  I  write 
principally  to  say  that  I  arranged  with  Ladd  to  pay  Bro.  Hines  Seven 
Hundred  Eighty  Two  61/100  Dollars  cash,  including  premium  at  15 
per  cent  amounting  to  Nine  Hundred  Dollars  which  you  will  please 
charge  to  his  account  on  Mission  books.  I  also  paid  the  amount  of  the 
enclosed  order.  Two  Hundred  and  Fifty  Dollars,  which  you  will  charge 
to  the  account  of  Bro.  Waller.  I  also  paid  Ladd  Four  Hundred  Five 
17/100  dollars,  adding  15  per  cent  Premium  which  he  said  was  due 
him.  I  had  no  time  to  examine  his  books.  He  will  of  course  explain 
all  to  you.  I  also  drew  an  order  on  Ladd  in  favor  of  the  H.  B.  Com. 
for  One  Hundred  Eighty  Two  Dollars  to  be  charged  to  the  Mission. 
I  wrote  to  Bro.  Hines  after  I  sailed  requesting  him  to  purchase  a  few 
things  for  James  Bates  [employee  at  Indian  Manual  Labor  School,  at 
Salem]  and  get  the  money  from  Ladd  to  pay  for  them.  If  my  memory 
serves  me,  James  included  in  the  orders  he  gave  me  upon  you  Twenty 
Dollars  to  be  spent  at  Oahu,  and  One  Hundred  to  be  spent  in  the 
States.  But  I  was  so  unwell  and  confused,  when  I  settled  with  you 
that  almost  all  traces  of  that  settlement  have  escaped  my  memory,  and 
I  find  myself  totally  unable  to  recollect  what  disposition  was  made  of 
his  money.  Neither  do  I  remember  how  the  Hundred  Dollars  order 
given  me  by  Mr.  Grey  [W.  H.  Gray}  was  arranged.  I  think  I  have 
some  faint  recollection  of  the  latter  being  included  in  the  due  bill  you 
gave  me  upon  the  Board,  but  have  not  the  slightest  remembrance  that 
James'  was  so  included.  It  is  a  matter  of  some  consequence  to  me  to 
know  if  possible  before  I  leave  the  States — and  if  you  can  help  me  in 
this  matter  by  a  reference  to  your  books,  you  will  oblige  me  by  writing 
the  first  conveyance.  Should  I  reach  San  Bias  in  safety,  I  may  leave 
immediately  with  the  Mail  for  Tepic,  and  have  no  time  to  write  by  this 
vessel  after  landing.  I  will  therefore  say  that  so  far  as  I  can  now  see 
I  shall  be  compelled  to  pass  on  to  the  City  of  Mexico  with  guides 
whose  language  I  do  not  understand,  and  shall  be  somewhat  in  danger 
of  molestation  from  Robbers.  Thank  Heaven  I  have  no  perplexing 
fears.  My  health  is  good  for  shipboard,  and  I  am  cheerful,  somewhat, 
thankful  and  happy. 

I  think  I  feel  the  same  interest  for  the  welfare  of  Oregon  that  I 


234   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

have  ever  felt  and  my  ardent  prayer  to  the  Almighty  is  that  the  labors 
of  everyone  of  you  all  may  be  crowned  with  much  fruit.  Give  my  love 
to  Sister  Abernethy,  and  tell  her  that  the  friendship  I  have  for  her  no 
language  can  describe,  and  my  prayer  is,  that  the  Lord  may  give  her 
contentment,  and  make  her  more  and  more  useful.  What  would  I 
give  to  know  how  you  all  are,  at  this  moment,  in  Oregon.  The  Lord 
only  knows  whether  I  shall  ever  see  half  or  any  of  you  again.  His  will 
be  done! 

If  you  have  anything  to  do  with  Ladd  &  Co.  be  on  your  guard,  for 
I  believe  they  intend  to  establish  a  great  monopoly. 

Mar.  29.  N.  Lat.  24° 

Since  writing  the  above  I  have  foimd  that  James  Bates'  order  of 
$300.00  is  put  to  my  credit,  or,  at  least,  it  is  put  in  a  list  of  credits  in 
your  hand  in  my  little  book.  Whatever  Bro.  Hines  may  spend  for 
James  at  Oahu,  not  exceeding  $25.00  you  will  please  charge  to  me. 
If  it  exceed  that  let  James  pay.  James  wished  me  to  request  you  to 
receive  from  Vancouver  a  watch  I  purchased  of  D.  Lee  and  sold  to 
him.  The  enclosed  to  Mr.  Douglass  [James  Douglas,  chief  factor  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company]  relates  to  the  watch.  If  it  is  not  received 
please  make  enquiries.  Since  the  first  date  of  this  we  have  had  fair 
wind  and  a  pleasant  run.  This  is  the  31  day  since  we  sailed  and  the 
joyful  cry  of  Land  O!  is  heard  and  we  see  the  coast — distant  45  miles. 
Three  days  more  we  hope  to  stand  on  terra  firma. 

Pray  for  me.   Farewell. ° 

[The  signature  has  been  cut  ofF] 
George  Abernethy  Esqr. 

Wallamette  Falls 
Oregon 
At  Sea  24  March  1844 

Rev.  Jason  Lee 

Rec'd  20  July/44 
Ans'd  24  July/44 

Letter  to  Waller.  Three  weeks  after  embarking  on  the  Hoa 
Tita  Jason  Lee  wrote  Rev.  A.  F.  Waller.  In  this  letter,  dated 
March  23,  1844,  Lee  says: 

"  Lee  to  Abernethy,  Oregon  Historical  Society,  Manusaipt  Colleaion,  pp. 
32-34. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         235 

Hoaikaika  [Hoa  Tito]  Lat.  31  30"  N 
N.  Lon.  125  W.  March  23,  1844. 
My  dear  Bro. 

The  last  note  from  Walamette  represented  you  as  low  but  con- 
valescent, and  I  fondly  hope  that  you  were  rapidly  restored  to  health, 
and  ere  this  have  rejoiced  over  many  souls  brought  to  God  through 
your  instrumentality.  The  time  spent  in  noble  efforts  to  pluck  sinners 
as  brands  from  the  burning  will  doubtless  be  looked  upon,  by  the 
dying  Missionary,  with  more  satisfaction  than  any  other  portion  of 
his  life.  How  soon  you,  or  I,  may  see  that  interesting  hour,  who  can 
tell.'*  Even  this  scrall  may  not  reach  your  eye,  till  time  with  one,  or 
both  of  us,  shall  be  no  more.  Be  that  as  it  may,  I  hope  to  see  you  in  a 
far  more  glorious  world  than  this. 

You  will  learn  from  Bro.  Hines  the  reasons  of  his  return,  &c.,  and 
a  great  deal  more  news  than  I  can  give.  My  stay  at  Oahu  was  so 
short  that  I  had  not  time  to  write  a  line  to  any  one,  and  as  I  shall  not 
have  a  moment  to  spare  at  San.  Blass,  I  have  summoned  sufficient  reso- 
lution to  commence  under  all  the  disadvantages  of  being  at  sea  in  a 
schooner  of  60  or  80  tons,  and  have  several  sheets  under  way.  Today 
however  I  have  a  bad  head-ache  and  have  been  most  of  the  day  in  bed. 
But  thoughts  of  my  old  friends  has  enabled  me  to  overcome  all  ob- 
stacles, and  if  I  don't  "fetch  away,"  I  think  I  shall  spoil  several  sheets 
of  paper  and  leave  on  board  for  my  friends.  I  paid  Mr.  Ricord  Two 
Hundred  and  Fifty  Dollars  for  you,  and  shall  enclose  your  order  to  Br. 
Abernethy.  You  will  hear  of  the  Death  of  Mr.  Lynn,^"  and  also  that 
the  prospea  that  the  Congress  will  do  anything  for  Oregon  is  small. 

What  the  result  of  your  land  claim  will  be,  of  course,  I  can  form 
no  better  opinion  than  when  I  left.  But  I  have  less  hopes  of  effeaing 
anything  for  the  Mission  more  than  to  prepare  the  way  for  something 
to  be  done  at  the  proper  stage,  that  is  whenever  the  Government  shall 
be  prepared  to  grant  titles. 

My  successor  in  office  may  reach  you  before  this  gets  to  hand,  and 
so  far  from  wishing  it  otherwise  I  am  inclined  to  think,  that  should  it 
be  so,  it  would  be  best  for  all  concerned.  In  that  case,  you  who  remain 
will  not  be  left  in  suspense,  waiting  for  news  from  me,  but  be  able 
at  once  to  go  forward  under  the  sanaion  of  the  Board  in  accordance 
with  their  wishes;  which  will  be  much  more  pleasant  for  you.  As  to 
myself,  I  feel  more  and  more  pleased  that  I  am  on  my  way  home. 

^®  United  States  Senator  L.  F.  Linn,  of  Missouri,  died  October  3,  1843. 


236   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Beyond  that,  I  cannot  now  see  one  inch,  and  yet  I  have  but  little 
solicitude,  in  reference  to  what  will  be  my  future  destiny  in  this  world. 
Oregon  is  the  place  of  my  choice,  but  if  Providence  orders  otherwise, 
I  trust  I  shall  always  be  ready  to  say,  not  my  will  but  thine,  O  God,  be 
done. 

I  hope  my  Dear  Bro.  that  I  may  depend  upon  hearing  from  you  in 
detail  all  the  important  news,  the  first  conveyance.  Yes,  I  do  trust  I 
shall  not  be  forgotten  by  those  I  have  left  behind,  though  I  am  aware 
you  will  have  other  business  besides  writing  me. 

My  kind  and  christian  regards  to  Sister  Waller  and  all  good  Chris- 
tians who  know  me.    I  long  to  hear  how  you  are  getting  along  with 

Dr. ,  &c.,  and  how  the  good  cause  is  prospering.    May  the  Lord 

bless  all  who  have  embraced  his  cause  and  keep  them  unto  "that  day." 

Mar.  27.  We  are  fast  approaching  San.  Blass,  and  in  five  or  six 
days,  with  good  wind,  I  hope  to  be  among  the  Mexicans,  but  I  fear 
their  society  will  not  be  very  edifying  to  me,  as  I  scarcely  understand 
ten  words  of  Spanish.  I  shall  soon  learn  enough  for  the  most  impor- 
tant purposes  and,  if  the  Robbers  do  not  molest,  I  think  I  shall  find 
the  journey  interesting,  and  if  I  had  your  love  of  journalizing,  I  might 
have  something  for  the  Public  when  I  gtt  home.  I  am  nearly  as  ig- 
norant of  the  route  and  the  country  I  am  to  pass  through  as  I  was  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  when  I  left  home  first.  We  have  no  book,  or 
map,  or  any  one  who  has  penetrated  a  mile  into  the  country,  on  board, 
and  can  learn  nothing  till  we  land.  I  trust  the  way  will  be  opened, 
and  that  I  shall  reach  home  in  safety.  There  I  shall  [find}  long  letters 
from  Oregon.    Shall  I  be  disappointed? 

Pray  for  me. 

^  I  am  as  ever, 

Yours  truly, 
p.  S.April  4  Jason  Lee. 

The  latter  part  of  our  voyage  has  been  much  longer  than  anticipated, 
but  the  prospea  now  is  that  a  few  hours  and  I  shall  be  on  shore  in  a 
strange  country,  without  a  friend,  or  anyone  that  I  have  seen  before, 
and  not  one  in  a  thousand  who  can  understand  a  word  I  say. 

But  I  have  no  fears,  all  will  be  well. 

Farewell,  farewell!  The  Lord  bless  you.  ^  ^^ 

J.  J-iEE. 

^^  Lee  to  A.  F.  Waller,  Oregon  Historical  Society,  Manuscript  Collection, 
pp.  35-37. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         237 

On  April  5,  1844,  Jason  Lee  landed  at  San  Bias,  at  that  time 
the  most  important  port  on  the  west  coast  of  Mexico.  One  day 
later,  on  April  6,  he  arrived  at  Tepic. 

Letter  to  Hines.  While  in  this  quaint  old  Mexican  city,  Lee 
penned,  in  the  calm  environment  of  a  quiet  Sunday  evening,  and 
sealed  in  the  office  of  E.  Brown,  the  British  Consul,  a  letter  to  his 
intimate  associate,  Rev.  Gustavus  Hines,  in  whose  Oregon  home 
Lee's  daughter  was  then  living.    Lee's  letter  follows: 

Tipic  [Mexico]  April  7,  1843  1844 
My  dear  Bro. 

I  landed  at  San  Bias  1  O.Clock  A.M.  the  5  Inst,  and  arrived  here 
9  A.M.  the  6.  Found  myself  greatly  fatigued,  but  am  now  rested  and 
in  good  health  and  spirits.  All  arrangements  are  made  to  start  at 
5  O'clock  in  the  morning.  In  four  days  I  hope  to  be  at  Guadalaxarra 
[Guadalajara],  thence  in  the  Diligence  to  Vera  Cruz  by  way  of  Mexico 
City,  and  if  I  gtt  an  oppormnity  at  once  from  Vera  Cruz  I  may  be 
in  N.Y.  in  5  or  6  weeks. 

I  have  seen  some  U.S.  Papers  as  late  as  Feb.  Great  noise  about  Ore- 
gon but  I  fear  nothing  will  be  done  this  year  of  importance  though 
negotiations  will  probably  commence  with  Packingham  [Richard 
Pakenham]  the  British  Minister.  The  papers  say  large  emigrations  to 
Oregon  this  year.  The  President  and  his  Council  [Cabinet]  went 
to  see  the  Great  Wrought  iron  Gun,  recently  invented.  The  Gun 
burst!  Killed  the  Secretary  of  State  ^^  Sec.  of  War  the  inventor 
of  the  Gun  and  a  great  many  more,  so  says  the  news  by  way  of 
Havanna. 

This  is  Sabbath  evening,  I  am  siting  at  the  desk  of  [E.]  Brown,  Esq., 
British  Consol,  while  he  and  all  his  family  are  gone  to  the  Opera. 
This  is  the  only  note  I  shall  send  from  here  you  will  have  the  goodness 
to  let  my  friends  know  my  progress,  and  that  there  is  in  my  opinion 
no  danger  from  Robbers  &c.  The  passage  of  the  little  one  back  entirely 
escaped  me  at  Oahu  but  if  the  estimating  Committee  will  not  pay  it, 
call  on  Bro.  [Alanson]  Beers,  or  for  any  other  funds  you  may  want 
for  her.  I  do  not  wish  her  to  be  removed  from  Oregon  before  it  is 
known  whether  I  remrn  or  not.  Sister  Campbell  ^*  has  the  keys  to 
my  chests,  and  Sister  Hines  can  look  at  the  few  things  I  left  and  if  she 

*^  Secretary  of  State,  Abel  P.  Upshur;  Secretary  of  War,  J.  M.  Porter. 
^*  Mrs.  Hamilton  Campbell. 


238   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

finds  anything  she  wants  for  herself  or  Lucy  Anna,  she  can  take  them 
leaving  a  list  of  what  she  takes. 

I  could  say  some  things  that  would  be  interesting  to  you  about  this 
country  but  time  will  not  allow  me  to  do  it,  you  will  therefore  excuse, 
and  Believe  me  as  ever, 

Yours  Truly,  ^^^  ^^^^, 

Care  Ladd  &  Co.  Oahu. 
Rev. 

G.  Hines 
Walamette 

Mexico.  On  Monday  morning,  April  8,  "at  5  o'clock,"  Lee 
left  San  Bias,  sweltering  in  its  tropical  April  sunshine,  and] 
traveled  by  diligence  to  the  Mexican  city  of  Guadalajara.  The 
Mexican  diligence,  the  old-fashioned  uncovered  stagecoach,  drawn 
by  eight  horses  and  mules,  must  have  interested  the  much  traveled 
and  observant  Oregon  missionary.  These  stagecoaches  ran  on 
regular  schedules  over  the  C amino  Real  or  King's  Highway.  Con- 
struaed  by  convia  labor  and  paved  with  cobblestones,  this  high- 
way in  1844  was  already  ancient.  Lee  ^'  now  witnessed  a  tropical 
luxuriance  that  must  have  appealed  to  him  as  strikingly  different 
from  anything  he  had  previously  known.  A  four  days'  ride 
brought  him  to  Guadalajara.  This  was  the  second  city  in  Mexico' 
with  a  population  of  approximately  100,000  souls.  Here  he  was 
delayed  by  the  Mexican  authorities  and  subjected  to  much  of&cial 
annoyance.  All  letters  and  sealed  packages  in  his  possession  were 
forcibly  taken  from  him  by  the  custom  house  officials  and  deposited 
in  the  post  office.  Lee  states  that  the  real  objea  of  the  seizure 
was  to  frighten  him  into  offering  a  $100  bribe  for  the  restoration 
of  the  letters.  This  dishonest  attempt  to  extort  money  was  "no  go," 
according  to  the  missionary.^* 

*  *  Lee  to  G.  Hines,  Oregon  Historical  Society,  Manuscript  Colleaion,  pp. 
38,  39. 

^^  For  a  map  showing  the  Camtno  Real,  see  Herbert  Eugene  Bolton,  His- 
tory of  the  Americas,  (N.  Y.,  1928),  p.  20. 

^ '  Lee  learned  after  his  arrival  in  Mexico  City  that  the  seizure  of  these 
letters  and  packages  was  wholly  illegal  since  the  letters  and  other  written 
matter  had  not  been  written  within  Mexico  nor  addressed  to  any  one  residing 
in  that  country. 


I 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         239 

Lee  left  Guadalajara  on  April  12,  1844,  reached  the  town  of 
Lagos  on  the  following  day,  and  remained  there  until  Monday 
morning,  April  15.  His  stay  at  Lagos  was  unpleasant,  since  he 
had  experienced  several  days  of  an  annoying,  although  not  serious, 
bilious  disorder.  A  week  of  travel  through  the  broad,  level  plains 
of  the  lake  region,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  productive  areas 
in  central  Mexico,  brought  him  to  Mexico  City,  "this  great  city," 
concerning  which  he  had  "not  time  or  courage  to  attempt  a 
description." 

Mexico  City.  When  he  observed  the  sights  and  sounds  of  this 
strange  Aztec  capital  he  encountered  "all  the  inconveniences  of  a 
crowd,  and  yet  I  am  alone." 

Lee's  frank  and  unguarded  statements  are  contained  in  his  letter 
to  Reverend  and  Mrs.  Gustavus  Hines,  written  from  Mexico  City 
on  Wednesday,  April  24: 

Mexico,  April  24,  1844 
My  Dear  Bro.  &  Sister. 

I  have  addressed  to  each  of  you  a  letter  since  I  left,  the  last  to  Bro. 
H.  from  Tipic  [Tepic],  both  will  reach  you  at  the  same  time.  When 
this  will  reach  you  I  can  form  no  idea.  It  will  probably  be  some 
months  on  the  coast,  waiting  for  a  passage  to  the  Islands,  and  who 
knows  how  long  there  before  it  embarks  for  Oregon?  By  a  note  written 
to  Bro.  Abernethy  you  will  have  learned  that  I  reached  Guadalajara  in 
safety,  and  that  every  sealed  letter  and  package  was  forcibly  taken 
from  me  by  the  Custom  House  Officers  and  deposited  in  Post  Office. 
I  find  upon  enquiry  at  headquarters  here,  that  these  letters,  neither 
having  been  written  in  this  country,  nor  direaed  to  persons  in  it,  they 
had  no  right  to  seize  them,  but  the  only  satisfaction  I  could  obtain 
was  a  promise  that  they  should  be  forthcoming  the  first  return  mail, 
which  will  be  a  week  after  my  departure.  They  will  be  forwarded  to 
me  at  N.Y.  by  our  Minister,  perhaps  with  some  expense,  though  I 
think  not  great.  The  postage  for  single  letters  across  here  is  50  cents, 
and  as  I  had  about  200,  I  suppose  the  real  objea  of  the  seizure  was 
to  frighten  me  out  of  $100,  but  it  was  no  go.  You  can  say  to  those 
concerned  that  their  letters  will  probably  reach  their  destination  but 
a  few  weeks  later  than  they  would  if  they  had  not  been  seized. 

Left  Guadalajara  on  the  12  [April  12]  and  arrived  at  Lagos  on  the 


240   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

13,  greatly  afflicted  with  the  bilious  colic,  put  up  at  the  Diligence 
House,  but  could  not  find  any  one  who  spoke  English  or  French,  and 
hence  I  could  get  no  medicine.  I  had  left  my  pills  accidently,  and  I 
had  nothing  but  pepermint,  of  this  I  took  freely  but  to  little  purpose 
for  I  suffered  extremely  till  an  American  came  in  in  the  evening,  who 
procured  hot  water  for  my  feet  and  some  oil.  Fortunately  we  remained 
here  over  Sunday,  and  on  Mon.  I  was  able  to  proceed,  though  by  being 
obliged  to  get  up  while  in  a  state  of  extreme  perspiration,  I  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  cold  which  has  kept  me  almost  constantly  employed 
from  that  time  to  the  present;  but  I  am  now  much  better  for  which  I 
trust  I  am  thankful,  as  it  would  be  extremely  dangerous  to  expose 
one's  self  to  the  Black  Vomit  of  Vera  Cruz,  predisposed  to  take  it. 
Tomorrow  I  leave  for  Vera  Cruz,  thence  to  N.Y.  in  the  Packet,  prob- 
ably. The  Diligence  is  frequently  robbed  between  this  and  Vera  Cruz, 
and  this  is  almost  certain  to  be  the  case  if  there  is  much  money  on 
hand.  Sometimes  they  only  leave  the  passengers  their  shirt  and  pants. 
I  understand  there  is  some  Gentleman  who  will  take  an  escort  of  sol- 
diers, so  there  will  be  little  danger  this  time. 

Speeches  about  Oregon  are  abundant  and  warm  in  Congress,  but  I 
think  nothing  will  be  done  till  diplomacy  has  settled  the  line  between 
E.  [England]  &  U.S.  Also  much  talk  about  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
many  for  it,  but  the  time  is  not  yet.  "Easy"  times  in  the  States.  Money 
plenty,  so  report  says. 

Congress  closes  on  the  27  May  [First  Session  of  twenty-eighth  Con- 
gress closed  June  17,  1844],  so  you  see  if  I  land  in  N.Y.  I  shall  hardly 
get  to  Congress  this  year. 

There  are  but  few  Americans  here,  all  fortune  hunters,  not  one 
takes  a  religious  paper.  The  New  Orleans  Picaune  [Picayune  founded 
in  1837]  is  the  only  paper  I  have  found  here  that  I  can  read. 

I  am  here  in  this  great  city,  and  you  would  like  to  know  something 
about  it,  but  really  I  have  not  time  or  courage  to  attempt  a  description. 
Should  we  meet  again  I  will  tell  you  many  things,  but  there  is  much  I 
can  not  learn  for  want  of  the  language.  The  Government  officers, 
from  Sante  Anna,  the  President,  down,  seem  to  be  of  the  opinion  of 
one  of  your  N.Y.  statesmen,  viz.:  "that  the  pubUc  is  a  goose,  and  he 
is  a  fool  who  does  not  pluck  her." 

The  land  is  good,  irrigation  necessary  in  many  places,  crops  abun- 
dant in  the  low  country,  two  in  a  year.  Wood  very  scarce.  All  the 
land  in  the  hands  of  a  few.  The  laborer  gets  18  3/4  cents  per  day. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         241 

and  corn  enough  to  support  him,  which  is  his  living.  The  great  ma- 
jority are  poor,  very  poor,  and  there  is  no  possibility  of  them  ever 
being  otherwise.  The  country  contains  some  Six  Millions,  nearly  one 
third  Indians,  who  changed  one  set  of  religious  forms  for  another,  and 
for  three  centuries  the  servitude  of  their  Chiefs,  for  the  more  offensive 
slavery  of  the  insatiable  Spaniard.  Since  the  revolution  I  believe  they 
have  been  treated  as  citizens. 

My  sheet  is  nearly  full  and  I  am  not  disposed  to  send  many  at  50 
cents  each  in  advance.  I  can't  begin  to  tell  how  much  I  want  to  see 
Lucy  Anna  and  Julia  [daughter  of  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Hines],  and  all  of 
you,  for  when  I  go  out  I  have  all  the  inconveniences  of  a  crowd,  and  yet 
I  am  alone.  Does  Lucy  Aima  talk  about  Papa?  has  Julia  forgotten  me? 

Cape  Horn!  [prominent  landmark  on  Columbia  River}  Yes  my  mind 
is  nearly  made  up,  but  who  can  tell  what  a  day  may  bring  forth?  If 
I  reach  home  in  safety,  I  think  it  will  require  but  a  short  time  to 
decide  whether  I  return  or  not,  and  if  I  return,  my  stay  in  the  States 
will  not  probably  be  long.  I  thank  God  I  feel  less  solicitude  for  the 
future  thari  I  could  have  expeaed  under  the  circumstances.  Give  my 
warmest  love  to  all  the  friends.  Tell  them  to  live  for  God,  and  him 
alone.  

Apr.  25.  Bills  on  N.Y.  are  generally  worth  from  ten  to  fifteen  per 
cent  [on  the  dollar],  and  yet  I  have  great  difficulty  to  get  my  Bills 
cashed  on  account  of  straggling  Americans  having  defrauded  the 
Merchants  by  drawing  Bills  which  were  protested  when  presented.  So 
you  see  the  wicked  do  not  cease  to  trouble  in  any  part  of  this  world. 
Have  just  succeeded  in  getting  cash  for  my  expenses,  and  have  only 
time  to  remove  to  the  Diligence  Office  to  be  in  readiness  to  leave  at 
4  o'clock  in  morning. 

Farewell.  The  Lord  Bless  you.  Kiss  the  Little  One  often  for  me. 
Yours  truly,  Jason  Lee.^' 

Sister  Hines  tell  Lucy  Anna  her  Papa  loves  her  very  much  and  will 
come  and  see  her  as  soon  as  he  can.  May  the  Lord  spare  us  to  meet 
again.  ^  ^ 

Rev.  G.  Hines 

Walamette,  Oregon 

Care  of  E.  Brown  Esqr.  Tipic. 

^'  Lee  to  Hines,   Oregon  Historical   Society.    Manusaipt  Collection,  op. 
40-43. 


242    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

On  to  New  York.  After  leaving  Mexico  City  on  April  26,  Lee's 
stagecoach  rumbled  for  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  along 
the  King's  Highway,  flanked  by  the  maguey  or  century  plant.  He 
crossed  the  eastern  mountain  range,  and  descended  into  the  hot, 
tropical  coastal  plain.  Eight  days  of  stage  travel  brought  him  to 
the  hot  and  unhealthful  city  of  Vera  Cruz  about  May  4.  Yellow 
fever,  bubonic  plague,  and  typhoid  were  a  menace  to  the  lives  of 
all  who  passed  through  that  port.  Lee  took  passage  on  the  first 
available  mail  packet  ship  bound  for  New  Orleans.  There  he 
boarded  an  up-river  Mississippi  steamboat  for  the  twelve-day  voy- 
age to  Pittsburgh,  where  he  arrived  in  mid-May,  1844.  He  crossed 
the  Allegheny  Mountains  by  stage,  reaching  his  destination,  New 
York  City,  on  May  27,  1844.  In  this  venturesome  journey  Jason 
Lee  consumed  five  months  in  constant  travel,  and  used  almost 
every  mode  of  transportation  known  to  his  day:  the  Chinook  canoe, 
the  ocean-sailing  ship,  a  picturesque  Hawaiian  trading  schooner, 
a  Mexican  diligence,  a  Gulf  mail  packet,  a  Mississippi  steamboat, 
and  an  easily  swinging  old-fashioned  stagecoach.^* 

Visits  Washington,  D.  C.  In  New  York,  he  found  the  General 
Conference  of  1844  in  session,  but  its  entire  attention  was  ab- 
sorbed by  the  slavery  question  as  represented  by  the  Bishop  Andrew 
case.**  The  Missionary  Board  had  no  time  for  consideration  of 
Oregon  Mission  business.  At  a  meeting  for  another  purpose,  how- 
ever, held  in  early  June,  the  board  suggested  to  Jason  Lee  that  he 
visit  Washington,  D.  C,  and  there  present  the  mission  land  claims 
to  the  proper  authorities.''"  Accordingly,  Lee  made  a  hurried  visit 
to  Washington,  where  he  conferred  with  President  John  Tyler, 
who  assured  the  missionary  that  an  Oregon  bill  would  undoubtedly 

^^Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  pp.  304,  305.  For 
detailed  information  concerning  Jason  Lee's  route  across  Mexico  I  am  indebted 
to  Dr.  George  Tays,  of  Mexico  City,  Mexico. 

^*  The  Bishop  James  O.  Andrew  case  resulted  in  the  division  of  the 
Methodist  Church  and  the  formation  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South, 
in  May,  1845.  Edward  Channing,  History  of  the  United  States,  6  vols.  (New 
York,  1897-1925),  V,  pp.  227,  228;  A.  B.  Hyde,  The  Story  of  Methodism 
(Greenfield,  Massachusetts,  1887),  pp.  200-202. 

*®  Lee  to  Gustavus  Hines  and  wife,  MS.  Colleaion  of  the  Oregon  Histori- 
cal Society,  p.  65. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         243 

be  passed  in  the  near  future  and  that  the  mission  land  claims 
would  be  respeaed. 

Mission  land  claims.  Lee  ably  presented  the  Oregon  Misson's 
claims  to  heads  of  the  various  government  departments  and  to 
leading  members  of  Congress.  In  a  conference  with  Oregon's  stal- 
wart senatorial  champion,  Thomas  H.  Benton  of  Missouri,  Lee 
was  supported  in  his  contention  that  the  mission  land  claims  were 
valid,  "reasonable  and  just  and  at  a  suitable  time  Congress  must 
be  memorialized, ""^  a  case  made  out,  and  presented  to  that  body." 
While  in  Washington  Lee  also  visited  the  office  of  Thomas  Holds- 
worth  Blake,  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  and 
filed  A.  F.  Waller's  Oregon  land  claim.  The  General  Land  Office, 
created  as  early  as  1812,  was  at  the  time  of  Lee's  visit  a  bureau  of 
the  Treasury  Department,  but  was  soon  (1849)  to  become  a 
bureau  of  the  Interior  Department,  under  whose  jurisdiaion  it 
now  is.** 

Returning  to  New  York  the  last  of  June,  1844,  he  wrote  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Gustavus  Hines  the  following  letter,  setting  forth  in  vivid 
detail  his  visit  to  the  General  Conference  Sessions  of  1844  and 
Washington,  D.  C: 

New  York,  July  1,  1844. 
My  Dear  Bro.  &  Sister, 

I  arrived  here  May  27.  Found  the  General  Conference  in  session, 
and  warmly  debating  the  subject  of  Bishop  ^^  having  become  a  slave- 
holder. A  resolution  finally  passed  (after  more  than  two  weeks'  dis- 
cussion) to  this  effect.  It  is  the  sense  of  this  conference  that  Bishop 
Andrew  cease  to  exercise  the  office  of  a  Bishop  till  he  ceases  to  be  a 
slave  holder.  The  South  protested;  and  declared  their  people  would 
force  them  to  separate  from  the  M.  ET  C.  and  it  was  finally  recom- 

*^  Lee  to  Mission  Board,  Oregon  Historical  Society  MS.  Colleaion,  p.  65. 

*^  Lee  to  Gustavus  Hines  and  wife,  Oregon  Historical  Society  MS.  Col- 
lection, p.  65.  Letter  from  Thomas  C,  Howell,  Acting  Commissioner  of  the 
General  Land  Office;  Biographical  Dictionary  of  the  American  Congress,  1774 
to  1927,  p.  709;  Appleton's  Cyclopcedia  of  American  Biography,  I,  p.  285; 
A.  C.  McLoughlin,  A.  B.  Hart,  Cyclopedia  of  American  Government,  II,  pp. 
306,  307. 

*'  James  O.  Andrew  of  Georgia. 


244   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

mended  to  the  Annual  Conferences  so  to  alter  the  6th  restriction  rule 
of  Discipline  as  to  allow  the  south  their  pro  rata  of  all  the  church 
property,  if  they  find  it  necessary  to  separate.  The  New  York  confer- 
ence has  decided  in  favor  of  the  alteration.  There  are  differences  of 
opinion  about  the  final  result. 

I  attended  the  Gen[eral]  Con[ference]  two  weeks — did  not  attempt 
to  get  a  meeting  of  the  Board  to  hear  me,  but  at  a  Meeting  connected 
with  Gen.  Con.  business,  a  resolution  was  passed  for  me  to  go  to 
Washington,  and  I  have  but  just  returned.  Met  a  very  favorable  re- 
ception there  and  there  is  every  reason  to  expea  that  the  land  claimed 
will  be  fully  and  cheerfully  accorded  to  us.  The  annexation  of  Texas 
to  the  Union  has  been  the  all  absorbing  question  the  better  part  of  the 
Session, — the  Administration  hobby,  but  it  has  failed.  War  with 
Mexico  was  anticipated  if  Texas  was  annexed  and  great  preparations 
were  made,  which  have  brought  heavy  anathemis  upon  the  President 
[John  Tyler}.  An  Oregon  Bill  will  probably  pass  next  session,  but, 
if  not  next  session,  the  settlers  of  Oregon  may  rest  assured  that  one 
will  pass  soon  it  cannot  be  put  off  much  longer.  This  is  conceded, 
even  by  the  Opposition. 

There  is  a  deep  prejudice  in  this  City  against  the  Oregon  Mission, 
and  against  myself,  though  I  am  treated  with  the  utmost  kindness  and 
respect.  I  think  your  letter  has  done  more  than  anything  else  to  bring 
about  this  state  of  feeling.  From  your  letter  they  seem  to  have  got 
the  following  impressions, — that  our  sawmill  [at  Salem]  sinks  $10  per 
day, — that  our  store  [at  Oregon  City}  makes  "many"  bad  debts  which 
will  never  be  paid,  that  it  is  a  great  vortex  swallowing  up  mission 
money, — that  it  would  be  "infinitely'^  better  to  send  money — that  goods 
can  be  got  at  Van.[couver}  at  halj  what  we  can  sell  for,  that  all  our 
Kanakas  [Hawaiian  Island  laborers}  get  ten  dollars  cash  per  month 
whether  sick  or  well,  and  that  they  do  not  earn  their  board,  a 
"numerous  gang"  at  that,  that  the  Indians  are  a  "doomed  race," 
&c.,  &c.,  &c. 

I  no  longer  wonder  that  the  Board  should  have  acted  as  if  they 
thought  I  had  taken  leave  of  my  senses.  This  day  I  meet  the  Board, 
and  only  having  been  informed  of  the  above  state  of  things  Saturday 
night,  and  this  being  Monday  morning  I  have  not  made  the  least  prep- 
aration, and  as  the  Vessel  in  which  I  purpose  to  send  this  sails  for 
Vera  Crus  at  12  A.M.  I  shall  not  be  able  to  write  any  other  letter  to 
Oregon  at  this  time  which  I  greatly  regret.    I  can  say  no  more  con- 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         245 

cerning  my  future  course  than  when  I  wrote  you,  a  few  hours  may 
determine,  but  it  will  be  too  late  for  this  conveyance. 

I  still  think  I  shall  return  to  Oregon  though  I  am  satisfied  I  could 
have  much  more  personal  enjoyment  here,  if  duty  did  not  call  away, 
for  I  meet  with  the  warmest  reception  everywhere.  I  shall  write  you 
again  the  first  opportunity,  which  may  be  in  a  few  days,  and  may  reach 
you  with  this.  The  Missionary  Soc.  is  no  longer  in  debt.  The  country 
in  a  prosperous  state,  and  a  large  amount  of  money  could  be  raised  for 
Mission.  My  health  is  good,  and  I  am  rejoicing  in  God  my  Savior, 
and  feel  perfectly  willing  that  he  should  choose  my  course.  I  could 
and  would  fill  several  sheets,  that  would  be  interesting  to  you  Ore- 
gonians  if  I  had  time.  Being  absent  I  did  not  know  of  the  opportunity 
soon  enough. 

Please  tell  Bro.  Waller  that  his  claim  is  filed  in  the  Office  of  the 
Commissioner  General  of  the  land  office.  This  will  probably  secure 
his  claim,  though  the  supreme  court  will  probably  take  no  aaion  till 
an  Oregon  Bill  passes.  I  hope  Bro.  Gary  is  with  you  putting  all  right, 
so  that  the  management  of  the  O.  Mission  may  no  longer  be  an  eye- 
sore to  the  Missionary  or  the  Board. 

You  cannot  begin  to  conceive  how  much  I  want  to  see  little  Lucy 
Anna,  Julia,  Sister  Hines  and  all  of  you.  Tell  Lucy  Anna  Papa  loves 
her,  and  prays  for  her,  wants  to  kiss  her,  and  will  come  and  see  her 
as  soon  as  possible.  I  cannot  think  of  your  leaving  before  I  can  let  you 
know  whether  I  return  or  not,  and  yet  I  feel  myself  compelled  to  say 
that  should  you  do  so,  it  is  my  desire  that  the  beloved  one  should  be 
left  with  Sister  Abernethy. 

Tell  the  Brethren  and  Sisters  that  I  do  most  deeply  sympathize  with 
them,  especially  in  their  want  of  society,  while  I  have  abundance.  It 
is  my  ardent  prayer  that  God  abundantly  bless  them  all,  and  greatly 
prosper  them  in  their  work.  There  are  thousands  who  deeply  sympa- 
thize with  [them]  and  I  hope  soon  to  put  them  in  the  way  to  convince 
you  of  it.  The  tone  will  soon  be  changed  in  reference  to  the  O.  Mission 
for  it  is  about  to  take  its  proper  place  and  will  rise  up  upon  a  solid 
basis. 

Excuse  this  scrawl  for  I  write  in  the  greatest  haste.  My  warmest 
affections  and  kind  remembrances  to  all. 

Yours  truly,     ^^.^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^,, 

^*  Letter  from  Rev.  Jason  Lee  to  Rev.  Gustavus  Hines  and  wife,  Oregon 
Historical  Society,  Manuscript  Collection,  pp.  63-65. 


246   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Meets  Mission  Board.  On  July  1,  1844,  Jason  Lee  met  the 
Board  of  Managers  of  his  Missionary  Society.  Dr.  George  Peck 
presided  and  Dr.  Charles  Pitman  was  corresponding  secretary. 
Dr.  Pitman  announced  that  the  purpose  of  the  meeting  was  to 
give  Mr.  Lee  an  opportunity  to  make  a  statement  in  conneaion 
with  his  administration  of  the  Oregon  Mission. ^^  The  secret,  un- 
founded charges  made  against  Lee  by  dissatisfied  members  of  the 
Oregon  Mission,  on  the  basis  of  which,  without  any  investigation 
whatsoever,  he  was  dismissed,  were  these:  appropriation  of  mis- 
sion funds  for  private  speculation;  misuse  of  mission  funds;  and 
failure  to  report  concerning  mission  property. 

Lee's  statement  to  Mission  Board.  Jason  Lee,  in  a  calm,  matter- 
of-faa  manner,  answered  these  charges  in  detail.  His  oral  state- 
ment to  the  Board  he  later  wrote  out  and  it  has  been  preserved.  ^^ 
This  statement  is  an  illuminating,  historical  document  and  is 
therefore  here  given  (for  the  first  time)^'  in  full: 

Special  Meeting  of  Board,  July  1,  1844. 
Board  met  this  afternoon  at  4  o'clock.  Dr.  Peck  called  to  the  chair. 
The  Rev.  Jason  Lee  from  Oregon  opened  with  prayer.  The  minutes 
of  the  last  meeting  were  read,  approved  and  signed.  The  following 
members  were  present.  Ministers,  Dr.  Peck,  Dr.  Pittman,  Coles,  Demp- 
ster, Jason  Lee,  Bigelow,  Lane,  Roberts,  of  New  Jersey,  Leonard  of 
Canada,  Seney,  Lyon  Cheney,  Smith.  Laymen,  Hall,  Edwards,  Dr. 
Phelps,  Coon,  Brown,  Dr.  Stephenson,  Dr.  Throgmorton,  Terry,  Mac- 
farlon,  Worrel,  Dando,  Skidmore,  Halsted,  Schureman,  More,  Raymer, 
Godine,  Cobb.    The  chairman  stated  that  this  was  a  special  meeting 

*'  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  pp.  307,  308. 

"  The  names  of  the  Mission  Board  members,  correaly  spelled,  are:  Dr. 
George  Peck;  Dr.  Charles  Pitman,  corresponding  secretary;  George  Coles; 
John  Dempster;  Jason  Lee;  Noah  Bigelow;  George  Lane;  "William  Roberts,  of 
New  Jersey;  Jacob  Leonard  of  Canada;  Robert  Seney;  Moses  Lyon;  Robert 
Cheney;  David  Smith. 

Laymen:  Francis  Hall;  John  B.  Edwards;  Dr.  J.  L.  Phelps;  P.  E.  Coon; 
A.  W.  Brown;  Dr.  James  P.  Stephenson;  Dr.  S.  Throckmorten ;  D.  Terry; 
T.  M'Farlan;  Henry  Worrall;  Stephen  Dando;  Williams  B.  Skidmore;  S.  Hal- 
sted;  Nicholas  Schureman;  Henry  More;  F.  Godine. 

^''  "Lee  arrived  in  New  York  in  May,  but  what  transpired  between  himself 
and  the  Missionary  Board  is  unknown."  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  I, 
p.  220. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         247 

called  at  the  request  of  the  Corresponding  Secretary.  Dr.  Pitman  ob- 
served that  the  meeting  had  been  called  to  ofifer  Mr.  Lee  an  opportunity 
of  making  a  statement  to  the  Board  in  reference  to  the  Oregon  Mission. 
He  also  stated  that  Bro.  Lee  had  been  permited  to  examine  the  papers, 
which  had  been  compiled  for  the  government  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gary  in 
his  visit  to  Oregon. 

At  half  past  4  o'clock  Mr.  Lee  arose  and  remarked,  in  substance,  as 
follows.  He  expressed  his  gratitude  to  God  for  his  protection  in  guid- 
ing him  once  more  to  a  civilized  world,  and  for  permitting  him  to 
meet  again  with  this  Board.  From  what  he  had  heard  since  his  arrival 
in  this  city  he  was  satisfied  that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  give  the 
Board  all  the  information  in  his  power,  he  would  therefore  state  briefly 
the  reasons  which  induced  his  return  from  Oregon: 

First,  The  Mission  had  obtained  by  possession  a  large  tract  of  land 
in  Oregon,  and  as  a  large  emigration  was  pouring  into  that  country, 
he  believed  it  a  duty  to  this  Board  to  immediately  petition  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  to  secure  to  the  Mssionary  Soc.  the  right  of 
possession.  My  impressions  were,  that  if  I  went  to  Washington  I  could 
present  the  claims  of  the  Soc.  in  a  manner  that  would  make  a  favorable 
impression.  In  my  recent  visit  to  the  federal  city  I  saw  and  conversed 
with  President,  heads  of  departments.  Senators,  and  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  I  gave  them  my  view  of  the  things,  and  I 
think  made  a  most  favorable  impression  upon  all.  And  though  nothing 
could  be  effected  at  present,  I  have  no  [doubt}  that  our  claim  will  be 
favourable  remembered.  Col.  Benton,  and  others,  said  that  our  claim 
was  reasonable  and  just.  At  a  suitable  time  Congress  must  be  memo- 
rialized, and  a  case  made  out  and  submitted  to  that  Body. 

Second,  I  had  heard  that  it  was  in  contemplation  to  send  a  special 
Agent  to  Oregon;  and  my  impression  was  that  he  would  probably 
cross  the  Mountains.  I  was  under  the  impression  that  availing  myself 
of  the  opportunity  which  offered,  I  might  reach  home  previous  to  the 
Agent's  departure,  and  by  giving  to  the  Board  a  detail  of  events,  and 
prospects  of  the  Mission,  might  save  the  expense  of  sending  the  con- 
templated Agent. 

Thirdly,  I  had  become  fully  satisfied  that  the  Board  had  had  such 
representations  made  to  them,  that  it  was  my  duty  to  appear  before 
them,  and  so  far  as  in  my  power  to  correct  those  eroneous  statements 
which  have  been  [made]  in  reference  to  proceedings  in  the  Mission. 


248    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

The  affairs  in  Oregon  have  greatly  changed  since  I  had  the  happiness 
of  meeting  with  the  Board,  first  a  great  change  has  taken  place  in  the 
white  population — Second,  the  Indians  have  diminished  upon  the 
Walamette  River  in  a  great  degree. 

When  the  Board  sent  out  its  last  large  reinforcement,  its  object  in 
my  view  and  I  believe  in  theirs  was,  that  Methodism  should  spread 
throughout  Oregon ;  for  what  purpose  else,  I  ask,  did  so  large  a  num- 
ber of  laymen  go  out?  If  it  was  only  to  form  one  or  two  stations,  it 
appears  to  me  that  both  the  Board,  and  myself  as  their  agent,  must 
have  taken  leave  of  our  senses.  If  my  associates  had  stood  firm  to  their 
post,  and  persevered  willingly  in  the  work  consigned  them,  I  have  not 
a  doubt  but  far  more  favorable  accounts  would  have  reached  you  from 
that  distant  country.  The  plans,  I  assert  [were]  well  formed  and  had 
I  been  sustained  the  object  would  have  been  accomplished.  A  great 
mistake  was  made  in  seleaing  some  of  those  who  were  sent  out.  I 
allude  not  to  the  number  but  the  qualifications  of  certain  individuals. 
I  forewarned  the  Oregon  Committee  that  if  the  persons  who  applied 
for  situations  were  not  examined  by  a  proper  committee  the  plan 
would  fail.  Such  proved  to  be  the  case.  As  proof  I  aver  that  we  had 
not  reached  our  first  stopping  place  in  South  America,  before  some 
desired  to  return  to  the  United  States,  and  even  after  touching  at  the 
S.  Islands  before  we  had  reached  Oregon  one  wanted  to  return  and 
secure  the  Chaplancy  at  the  Islands.  I  have  had  much  to  contend 
with,  and  I  regret  that  men  of  more  steadfast  minds  had  not  been 
chosen.  Such  persons  do  more  injury  to  a  distant  Mission  than 
they  do  good,  and  no  one  knows  the  difficulties  I  have  had  to  pass 
through. 

I  will  state  the  case  of  one,  although  I  am  compelled  to  speak  of 
one  now  no  more.  I  allude  to  Bro.  [James]  Olley — he  never  was 
capable  of  doing  more  than  the  work  of  half  a  man,  and  I  am  sorry  to 
say  that  he  met  death  [through  drowning  in  Willamette  River  on 
December  10,  1842]  in  a  mad  freak,  in  going  after  logs  to  build  a 
house  for  himself  without  my  knowledge.  The  Oregon  Committee 
must  remember  that  I  told  them  that  the  first  question  to  be  asked 
the  applicant  should  be,  "Does  your  wife  want  to  go".^  and  a  negative 
answer  should  satisfy  the  Committee  that  such  a  person  ought  not  to 
be  sent.  What  was  the  faa  in  the  case,  why  a  number  of  females  were 
unwillingly  dragged  thousands  of  miles  from  home  into  a  strange  and 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         249 

savage  country — and  some  of  them,  I  know,  would  gladly  have  returned 
in  the  very  steamer  that  took  us  to  the  Ship.  It  is  a  hard  lot  to  go 
so  far  from  home  free  from  care  and  anxiety,  but  to  endure  such  a 
voyage,  with  a  companion  all  the  time  looking  back  to  home,  and  re- 
proaching one  for  having  drawn  her  from  that  home,  is  more  than 
almost  any  one  can  endure.  So  far  was  this  the  case,  that  I  believe 
some  would  have  gladly  hidden  in  the  very  steamer  that  took  us  to  the 
Ship  sooner  than  have  gone  to  the  Oregon.  As  affairs  have  now  turned 
out,  the  laymen  are  not  all  needed  in  Oregon,  and  some  may  return, 
or  suffer  themselves  to  be  discharged  in  that  country. 

As  it  regards  Dr.  White,  I  feel  today  as  I  did  the  day  and  the  hour 
when  the  Dr.  first  left  Oregon,  that  I  had  done  my  duty.  Bro.  Kone 
complains  of  my  treatment  of  him,  and  professes  to  know  my  secret 
reasons  for  wishing  to  keep  all  in  the  field.  I  never  had  any  secret 
reasons.  As  it  regards  the  yearly  Meeting  I  acted  in  perfect  and  entire 
conformity  to  my  instructions  from  this  Board,  Bro.  Kone  by  his  in- 
judicious remarks  caused  great  excitement  among  the  laymen  and  made 
much  difficulty. 

As  it  regards  my  not  sending  reports  regularly,  I  ought  perhaps  at 
once  plead  guilty, — but  if  I  do  there  are  many  mitigating  circumstances. 
The  great  press  of  business,  calls  to  a  distance,  sickness  of  myself, 
death  in  my  family,  the  multiplied  calls  on  the  attention  of  the  Steward, 
Abernethy,  all  must  be  taken  into  consideration, — add  to  which  the 
opporttmities  that  offer  for  a  conveyance  to  the  U.  States.  I  could  not 
myself  go  behind  the  counter  and  relieve  Bro.  Abernethy.  I  called 
assistance  to  him,  but  it  was  found  rather  a  burden  than  an  assistance, 
— and  finally  as  soon  as  a  correct  statement  could  be  prepared,  it  was 
transmitted  and  is  now  in  your  possession,  and  I  take  upon  me  to  say 
that  Bro.  Abernethy  will  regularly  report  hereafter.  He  is  an  excellent 
accountant,  few  better.  I  am  not  surprised  that  you  have  complained, 
I  murmur  not. — It  is  owing  to  the  great  distance  we  have  been  from 
each  other,  and  the  peculiar  state  of  affairs.  I  assure  you  Brethren  that 
I  have  always  acted  for  the  best  interests  of  this  Society. 

In  one  of  Bro.  Abernethy's  letters,  he  tells  you  that  the  Superintend- 
ant  refused  to  send  the  report  of  the  state  of  the  property  home.  There 
is  some  error  in  this.  I  cannot,  I  will  not,  believe  that  A.  intended  to 
charge  me  with  opposing  the  sending  of  that  report.  There  must  be 
some  mistake  which  time  will  unfold.  I  am  satisfied  he  does  all  a  man 


250   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

can,  and  I  have  not  a  doubt  that  he  will  take  proper  care  of  the  prop- 
erty committed  to  his  care. 

I  am  charged  by  one  that  has  returned  with  speculating  in  cattle.  I 
will  give  you  a  history  of  this  matter.  $250  worth  fell  into  my  hands, 
they  feed  upon  the  Prairies,  and  eat  the  grass  which  otherwise  would 
be  burnt  in  the  fall.  I  have  also  during  my  residence  purchased  some 
eight  or  ten  horses.  I  knew  the  Mission  must  have  cattle  from  time  to 
time,  and  I  will  state  that  my  cattle  were  with  the  Mission's  for  a 
time,  but  I  spent  no  more  time  with  the  cattle  than  I  should  have  been 
obliged  to  spend  if  mine  had  belonged  to  another  man,  and  yet,  I 
paid  my  share  of  expenses,  including  my  time.  If  I  had  chosen  to 
speculate  I  might  have  sold  to  others,  at  a  profit,  some  cattle  I  let  the 
Mission  have  at  cost,  but  I  did  not  do  so.  As  to  time  spent  off  my 
Mission  work,  I  assure  the  Board  that  the  two  weeks  spent  in  attend- 
ance on  the  debates  at  the  General  conference  is  far  more  than  all  the 
time  spent  for  myself  since  my  return  to  Oregon.  The  Mission  owns 
about  six  hundred  [six  himdred  is  written  in  here  in  red  ink]  head  of 
Cattle.  My  cattle  have  increased  but  the  precise  number  I  do  not  know. 
A  little  before  my  departure  I  spent  two  days  in  looking  after  my 
cattle. 

Another  charge  against  me  is,  that  Walamette  is  not  the  most  suit- 
able place  for  a  location.  Perhaps  the  best  answer  to  that  is  that  a 
Committee  was  appointed  to  examine  certain  points,  and  that  Com- 
mittee reported  in  favor  of  continuing  at  the  Walamette.  As  to  the 
sickness  at  that  place,  as  reported  by  Bro.  [William  W.]  Kone,  I  am 
persuaded  that  had  the  Mission  been  at  any  other  place,  the  sickness 
would  have  been  the  same  it  was  so  generally  throughout  the  country. 

The  Letter  of  Bro.  Hines  {of  March  13,  1843} 

Before  I  left  Oregon  I  was  aware  that  Bro.  Hines  had  written  to  the 
Board.  He  had  read  part  of  his  communication  to  some  persons,  who 
had  hinted  to  me  about  it.  He  started  from  Oregon  with  me,  and  I 
was  in  hopes  we  should  have  met  face  to  face  before  this  Board.  He 
remrned,  however,  from  the  Sandwich  Islands  to  Oregon.  He  states 
that  the  Mission  [store  at  Oregon  City]  cannot  compete  with  other 
Traders.  I  have  paid  his  bills  at  other  stores,  and  I  know  that  the 
articles  he  purchased  elswhere  were  fully  as  high  as  at  the  Mission 
store.   And  yet  we  think  our  store  will  give  some  profit. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         251 

So  far  as  regards  the  matters  alledged  in  reference  to  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Co.,  he  would  say,  that  perhaps  the  dearest  goods  they  had  to 
purchase  was  the  Hudson's  Bay  Go's.  Their  mode  of  conducting  their 
business  was  this.  They  would  give  $2.20  for  a  Beaver  [skin};  this 
they  would  probably  sell  in  England  for  from  $5  to  $15.  Theirs  was 
a  nominal  [in  name  only}  currency,  they  put  on  [add}  in  the  first 
place  (to  Missionaries)  70  per  cent  [on  their  cost  price}.  They  will 
take  no  money  [from  buyers}  except  on  London.  They  do  business 
[buy}  there  (at  Fort  Vancouver)  at  the  rate  of  $4.00  to  the  poimd, 
but  when  you  come  to  pay  [them}  on  London,  they  call  these  pounds 
sterling  [$4.87}.  They  then  [in  addition}  have  a  commission  on  their 
bills,  and  make  us  pay  the  current  rate  of  exchange.  Now  Bro.  Hines 
himself  instead  of  going  to  the  H.  B.  Co.  who  he  says  sell  50  per  cent 
cheaper  than  we  do,  went  to  other  stores  and  bought  at  a  much  dearer 
rate  than  we  sell. 

The  committee  need  not  think,  however,  that  they  [the  missionaries] 
were  speculating,  or  abusing  the  people,  by  the  profit  they  were  making 
on  the  goods.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  they  (the  Mssionaries  of  the 
M.  E.  C.)  [Methodist  Episcopal  Church}  carreid  at  first  ploughs,  &c. 
These  the  people  needed,  and  it  was  by  means  of  these  that  the  con- 
dition of  the  people  had  been  so  much  improved.  This  has  given  them 
facilities  they  did  not  before  possess,  and  they  probably  raised  5000 
bushels  of  wheat  last  year  more  than  they  would  have  raised,  if  the 
Mission  had  not  afforded  these  advantages  to  them.  They  raised  enough 
for  their  families,  and  the  Emigrants,  and  the  H.  B.  Co.  took  I  think 
not  less  than  10,000  bushels  to  Russia.  Now  the  Mission  expeaed  to 
gtt  something  eventually,  for  they  trusted  them  [the  settlers}  when 
they  were  poor.  So  far  as  Bro.  Hines  remarks  about  bad  debts  went, 
he  [Lee}  would  inform  the  Board,  that  Mr.  Abernethy  assured  him 
that  the  Mission  would  ultimately  lose  scarcely  a  single  dollar.  The 
debts  were  being  gradually  paid.  No  man  leaves  the  country  in  debt. 
There  had  been  but  one  instance,  and  he  returned  and  paid  everything. 

Again  it  was  said  that  the  Mission  was  not  doing  a  profitable 
business,  and  that  it  would  be  better  to  take  out  money  and  buy  goods 
there  [in  Oregon}.  Mention  was  also  made  of  the  cost  of  transporting 
goods,  &c.  To  ail  this  he  [Lee}  would  say,  the  worst  thing  they  could 
do  would  be  to  take  out  money.  That  the  cost  of  freight  from  the 
S.  Islands  to  the  Columbia  was  $25,  as  asserted  by  Bro.  Hines,  is  all 


252    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

guess  work  with  him.  He  (M.  Lee)  had  looked  over  the  bills  more 
than  ever  Mr.  Hines  had.  A  small  cargo  reshipped  at  the  Sandwich  L 
did  in  one  instance  cost  $20. 

"But  the  cost  of  transport  up  the  Wallamette  was  enormous,  actual 
cost  from  $20  to  $30  a  load  being  taken  up  the  river  in  a  canoe." 
There  may  have  been  one  or  two  such  instances,  when  they  had  heavy 
rains,  and  fressets.  Then  the  expense  was  enormous,  but  the  average 
expense  was  nothing  like  that,  large  boat  loads  were  got  up  at  much 
less.   Bro.  Hines  has  taken  an  extreme  case. 

"Unhappy  influences  created.  The  Mission  accused  of  going  into 
speculation."  "Difficulty  in  convincing  the  Oregon  People  that  profit 
was  not  principally  sought."  I  am  of  a  contrary  opinion.  But  where 
are  christians  not  slandered?  Or  where  does  an  entire  community  speak 
what  they  think  of  the  men  of  God.^  The  regret  at  my  leaving,  and 
the  earnest  requests  I  received  to  come  back,  convince  me  that  such  is 
not  the  feeling.  We  have  put  them  in  advan[c]e  of  what  they  would 
otherwise  have  been.  Without  our  Mission  they  could  not  have  staid 
in  the  country  and  they  knew  it.  They  [the  settlers}  told  me  when  I 
reached  Oregon  last  [in  1840},  that  they  should  have  left  the  country, 
I  had  taken  out  things  and  saved  them  from  succumbing  to  the 
H.  B.  Co. 

We  have  been  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  Rocky  Moimtain 
[men}  who  have  been  from  10  to  15  years  in  the  Mountains  and  spent 
every  cent  in  drink ;  and  we  have  persuaded  the  people  to  marry.  They 
now  make  a  handsome  living;  are  christians  and  industrious.  It  is  im- 
possible that  such  an  opinion  should  prevail.  Viz.  that  our  objea  is 
principally  money.  Never,  never  since  the  world  commenced  has  a 
Settlement  of  such  men  been  so  benefited  by  christian  influence  as  the 
Oregon  Settlement.  Blood-thirsty  men  have  been  prevented  from  anni- 
hilating the  Indians.  I  have  a  paper  handed  me  just  as  I  left,  not 
numerously  signed,  but  signed  by  all  who  saw  it,  except  one  stranger, 
which  speaks  of  me  in  terms  I  should  be  almost  ashamed  to  read  before 
this  Board,  and  which  would  abundantly  confirm  all  that  I  have  said. 

Dr.  McLoughlin  told  me  that  a  few  years  before  we  went  to  that 
country,  they  could  not  send  a  boat  past  the  Dalls  without  a  guard  of 
60  armed  men.  Now  we  go  up  singly  and  no  one  is  robed.  This  is 
owing  to  our  Missionary  labors.  Dr.  was  kind  to  the  settlers  so  far  as 
he  liked  them,  but  wants  to  do  all  the  business.  He  is  a  Catholic.  Pre- 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         253 

vious  to  the  Priests  going  there  [in  1838],  I  was  his  intimate  friend, — 
his  confident.  Such  was  my  influence  with  the  Canadian  part  of  the 
settlement  [from  1834  to  1838],  that  they  would  have  been  pleased 
to  give  me  their  church  and  have  no  Priest  come.  Since  my  return  [to 
Oregon  in  1840]  I  have  not  [had]  time  to  instruct  their  children  as 
we  used  to  do,  and  the  Priests  have  taken  them. 

"Farming  operation,  10,000  bushels  of  wheat  sent  to  Russia,  which 
showed  that  there  would  be  no  lack  of  the  staff  of  life,"  &c.,  &c.  Some 
have  thought  differently,  and  have  difficulty  in  geting  what  they 
wanted.  The  people  borrowed  seed  from  the  H.  B.  Co.  and  the 
Com[pany]  made  them  pay  up  first.  And  they  take  it  in  wheat,  and 
must  have  it  at  any  rate.  (Mr.  Lane)  Is  it  true  that  it  costs  us  more 
to  raise  the  wheat  than  we  could  purchase  it  for?  (Mr.  Lee)  We  had 
to  break  up  new  lands  and  fence  in  farms.  Mr.  Hines  in  his  document 
leaves  out  the  cattle,  which  every  farmer  must  take  into  the  account  of 
profit  and  loss  on  his  farm.  Then  the  improvements  on  the  farm  re- 
mains after  the  original  outlay.  (Some  remarks  being  about  the  breth- 
ren living  better  there  than  they  did  at  home),  Mr.  Lee  said  with  all 
their  cows  they  were  not  able  to  supply  their  families  with  butter  the 
year  round. 

"Accused  of  speculating."  There  might  [be]  a  shadow  of  truth  in 
that,  when  they  first  went  out  they  bought  horses  to  ride  and  cows  to 
milk.  Some  sold  off  their  young  cattle,  others  let  them  increase.  Bro. 
Parrish  made  a  little  money  in  this  way,  perhaps  $100  one  year.  He 
and  others  kept  hogs  as  your  Preachers  do  in  this  country,  and  thus  got 
his  pork  a  little  cheaper.  He  and  others  would  go  out  to  look  for  a 
cow  that  had  calved,  for  a  quarter  of  a  day.  I  did  not  think  it  right 
to  spend  so  much  time  as  some  did  in  their  own  business,  and  told 
them  so.  Bro.  Frost  [in  the  summer  of  1841]  went  off  to  buy  some 
cattle,  the  only  effort  of  the  kind  he  ever  made.  And  I  think  the 
greatest  effort  he  ever  made  in  Oregon.,  Since  Bro.  Hines  wrote  that 
paper  he  has,  perhaps,  had  more  to  do  with  speculating  in  cattle  than 
any  man  in  Oregon  Mission.  What  I  call  speculating  is  not  buying 
cattle  with  the  intention  of  leting  them  grow  and  increase,  but  with  the 
purpose  of  selling  them  for  more  than  they  cost.  In  this  way,  I  was 
told,  he  made  $100  in  a  few  days,  then  went  out  the  impression  that 
your  Missionaries  were  speculating. 

I  made  one  speculation  myself;  I  went  to  Dr.  Richmond's  [summer 


254   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

of  1842} — ^he  had  some  things  he  could  not  sell,  I  took  about  $150 
or  $200  worth.  They  were  a  year  and  a  half  before  they  reached  me. 
He  teased  me  to  buy  his  rifle,  ofl^ered  it  to  me  for  $30.  I  knew  I 
could  sell  it  for  more.  I  at  length  consented  to  take  it,  and  on  reach- 
ing home  had  $50  offered  for  it,  and  I  let  the  person  have  it  at  once. 
That  was  the  only  thing  of  the  kind  I  ever  did,  and  I  was  heartily  sick 
of  it,  and  am  sorry  I  ever  did  it,  but  not  because  I  thought  there  was 
anything  wrong  in  it,  for  I  always  believed  I  had  a  perfea  right  to 
do  so.   But  I  was  sorry  of  the  use  made  of  it. 

"Supplies  can  be  purchased  from  the  French  farmers  around  at  a 
more  advantageous  rate."  "Seting  aside  the  growth  of  stock  the  farm 
has  not  supported  itself  by  many  hundred  dollars."  The  year  I  re- 
turned [1840}  we  did  not  gather  in  all  the  harvest,  but  is  my  adminis- 
tration to  be  found  fault  with  on  that  account?  I  was  away  on  an  ex- 
ploring expedition.  The  next  year  I  took  the  cradle  for  16  days.  I 
was  told  that  Broth's  Hines,  Abernethy,  and  others  sat  down  in  a 
room  to  estimate  the  expenses  of  the  farm  [at  Old  Mission}  in  the 
meantime,  and  there  made  up  their  conclusions;  but  when  the  farmer 
[Alanson  Beers}  and  myself  looked  into  it,  we  thought  it  had  more 
than  cleared  itself.  This  last  year  [1843}  the  farm  will  make  consid- 
erable money.  A  Barn  has  been  built,  the  farm  well  fenced  in,  and 
we  have  become  accustomed  to  work  it.  Bro.  Beers  is  selling  out  to 
the  people.  He  manages  the  farm,  and  is  as  good  a  man  to  work  as 
you  will  find  anywhere.  When  he  first  began  he  was  not  a  farmer,  but 
has  now  got  used  to  it.  He  is  one  of  the  Executive  Committee,  at  the 
head  of  the  Oregon  Government.  This  does  not  interfere  with  his 
labor  much.  "And  the  more  extensive  the  operations,  the  greater  the 
loss!"  "The  Blacksmith  has  little  to  do,  and  the  shop  does  not  pay, 
&c."  That  there  is  little  to  do  I  think  is  a  great  mistake,  for  Bro. 
Beers  is  pressed  beyond  measure  with  work,  and  if  Bro.  Parrish  had 
not  been  affeaed  with  the  Ague,  so  that  he  could  have  worked  at  the 
business,  the  shop  would  have  made  money. 

["}  The  same  fatality  attends  the  Milling  business,  the  [lumber} 
Mill  has  sunk  $10  a  day  for  some  months  past.  I[t}  had  better  be 
given  away."  Now  in  the  spring,  I  believe  it  was  before  the  mill 
closed,  the  winter  before  he  writes  this,  Bro.  Hines  riding  with  me 
said  he  had  been  making  an  estimate  and  found  the  mill  was  clearing, 
I  think  he  said,  $15  a  day.   In  this  document  he  says  nothing  about 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         255 

that.  The  next  year  it  got  out  of  repair,  and  while  being  repaired,  it 
may  have  sunk  $10  a  day.  This  might  last  about  a  month.  I  examined 
the  accounts  at  the  end  of  the  year  and  it  did  not  make  much  that 
year.i  The  water  did  not  come  as  early  as  usual  by  a  month  or  more. 
We  have  now  let  it  out  [leased  it}  for  two  years,  we  have  [receive} 
half  the  lumber,  and  risk  [are  responsible  for}  the  Dam  and  the 
ironwork.  Lumber  sells  at  from  $12  to  $15  a  thousand.  Bro.  Hines 
must  have  known  that  this  would  make  a  false  impression,  and  it  is 
not  fair.  The  Board  then  adjourned  until  Tuesday  evening  at  8  o'clock 
and  were  dismissed  with  the  benediction. 


Tuesday  Evening 

Dr.  Bangs  in  the  Chair.  Prayer  by  Mr.  Wakely.  Members  present: 
Ministers,  Dr.  Bangs,  J.  Lee,  Withey,  Wakely,  N.  I.  B.  How,  Lane, 
Pitman,  J.  M.  Howe.  Laymen,  Hall,  Skidmore,  Cobb,  Worrall,  Dando, 
Macfarlane,  Coon,  M.  Lane,  Throckmorton,  Rayner,  Mead,  More,  Dr. 
Stephenson.^® 

Mr.  Lee  continued.  There  is  one  thing  I  did  not  mention  yesterday, 
the  excuse  Bro.  Kone  made  for  not  writing  [the  superintendent  con- 
cerning his  departure}  while  he  lay  in  Bakers  Bay  was  that  the  fore- 
mast and  mainmast  were  destroyed  by  lightning,  and  they  were  six 
miles  from  shore.  I  saw  the  Capt.  afterwards.  He  showed  me  the 
mainmast  and  all  that  was  to  be  seen  as  a  mere  scar,  a  narrow  slip  of 
about  two  feet  in  length.  He  said  nothing  about  the  other  masts  being 
injured.  The  distance  across  the  river  is  about  six  miles.  Bakers  Bay 
lies  inside  a  sand  Island,  and  cannot  be  over  two  miles  wide.  Vessels 
do  not  lie  over  1  or  ll/^  miles  from  shore. 

With  respea  to  the  circumstances  attending  the  death  of  Bro.  Olley 
[James  Olley,  Mission  carpenter,  drowned  in  Willamette  River,  De- 
cember 10,  1842},  (Mr.  Pitman  observed  that  the  account  had  been 
furnished  by  Bro.  Frost  since  he  came  to  this  country) .  I  was  told  that 
Bro.  Hines  had  written  an  account  of  his  death,  and  his  account  must 
be  correct.  Some  remark  of  Mr.  Hall,  respecting  a  statement  of  Mr. 
Lee's  on  the  previous  evening,  on  which  Dr.  Bangs  observed  that  he 
never  selected  any  of  them,    (the  Missionaries,) — ^not  one  of  them, 

*®  The  names  of  the  Mission  Board  members  not  already  identified  at  the 
meeting  held  on  July  3  are:  Dr.  Nathan  Bangs,  chairman,  Ezra  Withey,  Lemuel 
Wakeley.    Laymen:  G.  T.  Cobb,  J.  Raynor,  Ralph  Mead. 


256   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

and  did  not  know  how  they  were  selected.  Mr.  Lee.  You  and  I  were 
the  committee  to  accept  them,  and  after  that  Dr.  Luckey  ^^  was  added. 
I  gave  my  consent  to  only  two  of  the  men.  Mr.  Pitman  remarked  on 
the  word  "mad,"  as  applied  to  Mr.  Olley,  and  Mr.  Lee  explained  that 
he  meant  it  was  a  wild  freak,  an  inconsistent  and  unheard  of  thing. 

Mr.  Lee  then  read  a  paragraph  from  Mr.  Mines'  document,  respect- 
ing the  great  number  of  drafts  that  were  "flocking  over  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  which  it  was  contended,  proved,  that  the  true  inter- 
ests of  the  Mission  a  change  in  the  modus  operandi/'  &c.  On  which 
Mr.  Lee  remarked,  I  do  not  know  any  considerable  expenditure  that 
was  not  first  approved  of  by  the  members  of  the  Mission,  Bro.  Hines 
among  the  rest.  And  the  Mission  would,  I  believe,  bear  me  out  in 
saying  that  it  was  the  general  impression  that  Bro.  Hines  was  more 
free  to  have  the  money  spent  than  any  other  man  on  the  Mission.  A 
house  was  wanted  [at  Salem]  for  himself  and  Bro.  Campbell.  The 
plan  was  drawn  out  [in  late  1841},  I  thought  it  [the  house}  was  too 
small  for  two  families,  and  it  was  agreed  to  build  a  larger  one,  the 
size  was  defined,  and  Mr.  H.  professed  himself  much  pleased.  I  went 
home.  On  my  return  I  found  he  had  altered  the  plan  on  his  own 
responsibility.  He  said  it  would  cost  but  little  more,  I  thought  it  would 
cost  $100  more.  I  expressed  my  surprise.  He  was  displeased  and  told 
me  I  ought  rather  to  have  congratulated  him  upon  the  noble  looking 
house  he  had  raised.  Bro.  H.  was  said  to  be  the  highest  man  in  his 
estimates  for  domestic  expenditures.  I  say  this  only  that  you  may  know 
something  about  the  man  who  has  prefered  these  charges. 

"A  numerous  gang  of  Sandwich  Islanders  are  employed  whose  labor 
does  not  pay  their  board.  They  are  paid  |10  per  month  sick  or  well." 
This  is  calculated  to  make  a  very  false  impression.  You  would  think 
that  a  gang  would  consist  of,  at  least,  5  or  6.  I  think  the  farmer  [at 
Old  Mission}  has  never  had  more  than  three  belonging  to  the  farm 
except  in  time  of  harvest.  They  receive  nominally  $10  a  month.  This  is 
the  H.  B.  Com.  price,  paying  them  in  goods  at  Sandwich  Island  retail 
prices,  and  enormously  high.  Dr.  M.  Loughlin  told  me  they  prefered 
taking  $74  a  year,  Beaver  prices.  Bro.  Hines  knew  this  as  well  as  I 
knew  it,  both  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they  were  paid,  and  the  prices. 
They  were  satisfied.  We  were  guided  by  the  H.  B.  Co.  "Whose  labor 
does  not  pay  their  board."  The  H.  B.  Co.  have  repeatedly  told  me  that 
^^  Samuel  Luckey. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         257 

this  is  the  cheapest  labor  that  can  be  procured.  We  have  found  it  so,  so 
also  thinks  the  farmer.  Bro.  Beers  understands  business  well  and  would 
not  keep  men  year  after  year  who  did  not  earn  their  board,  and  give 
them  $10  per  month.  I  was  offered  $1  a  day  for  one  as  long  as  he  could 
work.  The  falsity  of  this  statement  is  apparent  to  anyone.  I  cannot  take 
any  other  view  of  it  than  it  was  written  to  make  a  false  impression. 

"There  is  not  an  Indian  but  what  is  affected  with  the  venereal 
disease,  or  scrofula,"  &c.  I  accompanied  Bro.  Hines  to  the  Umpqua 
[in  1840].  We  saw  several  himdred  Indians  in  our  route.  I  saw 
no  signs  of  venereal  diseases,  and  there  was  no  such  remark  made 
about  the  Indians  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Walamette.  These  prevail  to 
a  great  extent,  especially  the  scrofula  amongst  the  Indians  on  the 
Columbia  river  and  lower  part  of  Walamette,  but  even  there  it  is  very 
far  from  the  truth  that  scarcely  an  exception  is  found,  or  my  eyes  de- 
ceive me  very  much.  "These  with  the  petty  wars  are  fast  destroying  this 
wretched  race  of  men."  There  has  been  very  few  petty  wars  since  we 
went  into  that  country.  If  the  Mission  has  done  nothing  else,  it  has  put 
a  stop  to  these  in  a  great  measure  from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
River  to  the  Dalls,  and  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Wallamette  Valley. 
There  have  been  a  few  murders,  but  very  few  to  what  there  used  to  be. 
"These  1500  Indians  are  divided  into  seven  different  clans  each  speak- 
ing a  distinct  language,  not  understood  by  others  except  through  an 
interpreter."  Bro.  Hines  has  probably  less  personal  knowledge  on  this 
subject  than  any  other  man  except  Bro.  Beers,  who  with  Dr.  Babcock, 
is  the  only  one  that  has  not  attempted  to  preach  to  the  Indians  in  Jar- 
gon. Bro.  Hines  I  think  has  never  attempted  it.  Mr.  [Cornelius] 
Rogers  [a  missionary  first  at  the  Whitman  Mission  and  later  at  Lee's 
Mission]  one  of  the  best  linguests  says  that  the  Kalapooyas  all  speak 
the  same  language.  This  Jargon  was  used  at  the  Dalls,  many  of  the 
Indians  understood  it,  many  were  convicted  and  converted.  The  In- 
dians have  never  been  injured  by  white  men  since  I  went  there.  They 
would  have  been  had  we  not  been  there  to  guard  their  interests.  But  I 
wish  the  world  to  know  that  the  Missionaries  have  exerted  their  influ- 
ence to  prevent  the  white  men  killing  the  Indians,  and  therefore  they 
have  not  killed  a  white  man  since.  The  H.  B.  Co.  were  sending  out 
a  large  party  to  avenge  the  death  of  one  of  their  Trapers.  The  leader 
came  to  my  house.  I  made  enquiries  and  found  that  there  were  no 
substantial  grounds  to  believe  that  the  tribe  they  were  going  to  murder 


258   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

were  guilty  parties,  and  in  consequence  of  my  remarks  they  gave  up 
their  design.  True  the  H.  B.  Co.  made  a  noise  about  Missionaries  in- 
terfering with  their  business,  &c.,  but  a  few  weeks  after  it  was  found 
out  to  be  another  tribe  than  that  on  which  they  were  going  to  wreak 
their  vengeance. 

Dr.  M.  LoughHn  afterwards  acknowledged  he  was  satisfied.  /  saved 
them  from  murdering,  and  us  from  being  murdered.  "And  indeed 
they  (the  Indians)  have  no  life  or  energy  and  are  a  melancholly 
doomed  race  of  men."  I  think  this  is  in  part  true,  the  Indians  on  the 
Walamette,  will  become,  as  a  distina  race,  extinct.  But  I  think  there 
will  be  more  Indian  blood,  through  amalgamation,  running  in  the 
veins  of  white  men  a  hundred  years  hence  than  would  have  been  run- 
ning in  the  veins  of  the  Indians,  if  they  had  been  left  to  themselves. 
The  Missionaries  have  performed  many  such  marriages  among  them. 

"So  far  as  the  prospea  of  doing  good  is  concerned,  there  is  nothing 
to  warrant  the  Board  in  supporting  the  Mission  at  its  present  expense." 
That  probably  was  perfectly  true  when  Bro.  Hines  wrote,  though  even 
then  the  expense  was  not  so  great  as  his  language  would  lead  one  to 
believe.  But  alterations  have  been  made.  Several  of  the  laymen  I  have 
persuaded  to  go  for  themselves.  They  were  willing  to  do  so.  Had  I 
dismissed  them  without  their  consent,  they  might  have  required  me  to 
send  them  home.  This  arrangement  will  save  money,  and  the  Mission 
will  do  very  well.  I  have  dismissed  three  laymen.  At  the  Dalls,  Bro. 
Brewer  the  farmer  could  not  be  spared.  He  is  doing  well  for  the  Mis- 
sion. Bro.  Perkins  is  not  enough  for  that  Mission.  At  Clatsop  Bro. 
Parrish  is  laboring  for  the  good  of  the  Indians.  He  was  doing  well, 
and  working  hard.  He  is  a  local  Preacher.  Seven  of  the  Indians  were 
becoming  praying  men. 

Of  Bro.  Frost,  I  cannot  say  much.  He  has  made  no  thorough  effort  to 
bring  sinners  to  God.  I  mean  such  an  effort  as  would  render  it  prob- 
able that  these  Indians  could  not  be  benefited  by  the  Gospel.  Whether 
he  could  have  done  more  is  with  himself.  At  the  Walamette  Falls 
Bro.  Abernethy  cannox.  be  spared  until  he  has  wound  up  the  business, 
which  will  take  him  a  year  or  two.  At  the  old  farm  [at  Old  Mission 
near  modern  Wheatland]  is  Bro.  Beers,  that  could  not  be  given  up.  It 
would  be  bad  policy  to  gv^^  it  up.  It  could  be  sold  but  we  have  the 
prospect  of  geting  the  land,  which  will  be  yet  more  valuable  than  it  is 
now.   It  is  only  by  retaining  the  farms  that  we  can  secure  the  lands 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         259 

which  are  any  day  worth  $40,000.  I  have  no  doubt  about  geting  the 
land.  Dr.  Babcock  went  to  the  S.  Islands  for  the  benefit  of  his  wife's 
health,  but  has  now  returned.  He  was  never  fond  of  the  station. 
There  was  some  little  disaflfection  but  he  has  taken  pretty  good  care  of 
the  Mission  family.  They  could  not,  at  Walamette,  well  get  along 
without  a  Physician. 

At  the  Mill  [at  Chemeketa,  the  modern  Salem]  we  have  none  of  our 
own  people.  Bro.  Judson  has  gone  to  work  for  himself.  At  the  [In- 
dian Manual  Labor]  school  we  have  only  Bro.  Campbell,  his  wife,  and 
sister  Philips,  who  will  probably  not  remain  long  at  the  school.  This  is 
nothing  like  an  adequate  number.  To  carry  on  the  school  at  the 
Shawnee  Mssion,  I  am  informed,  they  have  14  individuals,  directly 
employed  in  school,  male  and  female,  they  have  100  schollars,  we  have 
about  40.   Bro.  Gary  may  be  able  to  dismiss  more  of  the  laymen. 

"This  state  of  things  produces  a  very  disheartening  effect  upon  the 
minds  of  the  friends  of  the  Mission, — the  object  is  not  secured."  To 
this  I  reply  that  the  laymen  have  nearly  all  told  me  that  they  went  to 
Oregon  with  the  expeaation  of  becoming  Missionaries,  and  Preachers. 
They  find  they  cannot  do  this  and  they  feel  dissatisfied.  There  are  16 
adults  employed  at  and  above  the  Falls.  A  majority  think  there  ought 
only  to  be  six. 

Now  let  us  look  at  this  majority.  There  is  Bro.  Hines  and  his  wife, 
who  never  wished  to  go  into  the  country.  And  Miss  Philips  who  I 
think  is  about  to  be  married.  Dr.  Babcock  and  his  wife  who  never 
wished  to  go  for  ten  years  and  would  be  glad  to  return.  Bro.  Aber- 
nethy,  and  his  wife  who  did  not  wish  to  go.'"  Bro.  Waller's  wife, 
who  never  wished  to  go  into  the  country,  and  Bro.  Parrish  and  his 
wife,  who  wanted  to  got  upon  a  circuit.  These  will  about  make  the 
number.  I  was  told  that  Bro.  Hines'  mind  was  made  up  to  come  home 
bejore  he  wrote,  and  that  is  the  key  to  this  communication  from  Bro. 
Hines. 

Mr.  Lee  then  proceeded  to  notice  the  impression  made  upon  the 
Board  by  the  communication,  which  he  felt  was  very  unfavorable,  and 
to  illustrate  the  character  of  the  writer  adverted  to  a  fact  in  connection 
with  the  Oregon  Institute.    The  Trustees  had  unanimously,  with  the 

"*  Lieutenant  Wilkes  made  this  comment  concerning  Mrs.  Abernethy:  "Mrs. 
Abernethy  we  found  pretty  &  pleasing  &  and  gave  such  hospitality  as  we 
would  receive  at  home.  I  thought  her  out  of  place  in  this  country  and  com- 
munity."   Wilkes'  Diary,  Washington  Historical  Quarterly,  XIII,  p.  48. 


260   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

exception  of  Mr.  Hines,  agreed  upon  a  certain  resolution.  And  Mr. 
Hines  after  the  meeting  charged  them  all  with  being  satisfied  that  they 
were  acting  inconsistently.  And  of  course  they  had  voted  as  they  did 
from  improper  motives.  In  this  he  persisted  to  such  an  extent  that  it 
was  generally  understood  that  he  did  not  intend  to  pay  his  subscrip- 
tion. And  the  sensation  was  so  great  that  the  colleaor  declared  that  he 
should  not  come  away  without  paying  it  for  he  would  have  him  ar- 
rested. He  paid  it  just  before  he  left.  Some  of  it  had  been  due  a  long 
time.  He  did  leave,  but  has  returned  to  the  Continent.  I  have  no  doubt 
(continued  Mr.  Lee)  that  this  document  was  written  to  prepare  the 
way  for  his  leaving,  and  in  his  zeal  he  has  gone  beyond  the  mark.  I 
do  not  mean  to  say  that  he  has  intentionally  stated  any  thing  wrong, 
and  yet,  knowing  the  man,  and  the  document,  I  confess  I  am  dread- 
fully puzzled  to  account  for  some  of  the  statements.  I  ought  to  say, 
however,  that  I  am  under  ten  thousand  obligations  to  Bro.  Hines;  he 
has  been  as  kind  to  me  as  a  man  could  be.  His  wife  has  been  a  mother 
to  my  daughter,  and  his  house  has  been  my  home! 

Mr.  Lee  observed  that  [he]  felt  inclined  to  say  something  respecting 
himself.  He  said  when  he  first  went  to  Oregon,  he  went  to  work  with 
his  hands ;  he  was  brought  up  to  hard  work.  He  knew  the  impression 
prevailed  here  that  he  was  not  competent  to  manage  such  a  concern,  but 
he  had  managed  gangs  of  men  before  he  was  converted.  The  first  year 
he  was  in  Oregon  [1834]  he  worked  incessantly,  and  seldom  did  the 
sun  in  the  morning  find  him  from  his  work.  In  the  winter  he  had  work 
that  he  could  do  in  the  house  in  the  evening,  such  as  making  sashes, 
and  in  a  house  measuring  32  feet  by  18  he  hewed  every  plank  for  the 
floor,  above  and  below,  and  all  the  doors  and  tables,  &c.  He  had  seen 
the  day  when  he  could  chop  a  cord  of  sugar  maple  wood  in  two  hours 
and  he  did  more  in  his  first  year  in  Oregon,  in  the  way  of  building 
that  house,  fencing  and  cultivating  land,  than  he  had  ever  seen  done 
there  by  any  one  man  in  the  same  time.  He  then  alluded  to  some  dif- 
ficulty he  had  had  in  the  ereaion  of  the  Mill,  over  which,  however,  by 
his  management  he  triumphed.  He  could  manage  any  one  branch  of 
business  very  well,  and  never  had  fault  found  with  him  at  home,  those 
under  him  were  always  willing  to  stay  longer.  He  could  do  one  thing 
but  could  not  be  in  ten  places  at  once. 

He  did  not  engage  in  the  Missionary  work  for  the  sake  of  speculat- 
ing.  The  Chair  would  bear  him  witness  that  before  he  went  out  the 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         261 

first  time,  when  it  was  proposed  to  givG  him  a  larger  salary,  he  said 
God  forbid  that  the  time  should  ever  come  when  Preachers  in  the 
M.  E.  C.  could  take  into  account  the  prospect  of  pecuniary  advantage, 
above  what  Preachers  have  at  home,  as  an  inducement  to  go  into  the 
Missionary  field. 

And  the  estimating  Committee  "  would  bear  him  record  that  when 
they  were  making  out  the  estimates,  at  time  of  his  last  visit  [1838- 
1839],  they  told  him  they  had  been  accustomed  [to]  give  Superintend- 
ants,  and  he  replied  that  on  no  consideration  could  he  be  induced  to 
receive  more  than  Preachers  did  at  home,  or  his  associates  who  labored 
in  the  same  field. 

The  Chair  (Dr.  Bangs)  and  the  committee  ascented  to  the  above 
statements. 

These  things  being  known,  (said  Mr.  Lee)  my  character  ought  to 
have  been  above  suspicion.  I  know  that  men  may  change,  but  still  it 
ought  not  to  have  been  credited,  without  the  most  indisputable  proofs, 
that  Jason  Lee  was  speculating,  and  that  too,  with  Mission  funds  for 
his  own  benefit.  He  had  served  the  Missionary  Society  eleven  years. 
He  had  had  a  wife  ^^  a  short  part  of  that  time,  and  she  had  well  earned 
her  living.  In  addition  to  all  her  domestic  labors  for  the  Mission, 
which  were  very  heavy,  she  made  clothes  for  the  Indian  children  in 
the  school.  When  she  did  work  for  others,  the  proceeds  were  always 
put  into  the  Mssion  funds.  This  was  the  case  with  both  of  his  wives. 

He  had  himself  lived  most  of  the  time  without  any  Table  Expenses, 
and  had  received  during  the  eleven  years  but  $1300  with  the  exception 
of  his  living.  Yet  he  and  his  brethren  had  contributed  as  liberally  as 
any  men  towards  any  benevolent  project.  As  Superintendent  he  was 
expected  to  give  more  than  others,  and  to  enable  him  to  meet  these 
demands,  he  had  sold  the  clothes  of  his  deceased  wives  and  his  furni- 
ture, &c.  He  would  not  have  mentioned  these  things,  but  he  thought 
it  due  to  himself,  after  the  feeling  he  had  wimessed  in  every  quarter. 
As  to  his  traveling  expenses  he  did  not  think  that  throughout  his  whole 
tour  through  the  United  States  [in  1838-1839]  they  would  find  $3 
charged  for  dinners;  for  he  had  been  so  conscientious  that  he  often 
dined  upon  a  few  crackers  in  order  to  save  expense  to  the  cause.    It 

^^  The  Estimating  Committee  was  composed  of  seven  members,  one  of 
the  nine  committees  of  the  Missionary  Society. 

^^Anna  Maria  Pittman  married  Jason  Lee,  July  16,  1837;  died  June  26, 
1838. 


262   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

was  his  opposition  to  the  expenditure  of  Dr.  White  that  incensed  that 
gentleman  against  him. 

Then  he  Mr.  Lee  again  went  out,  his  principles  with  regard  to  econ- 
omy were  unchanged;  but  he  was  then  placed  in  circumstances  he 
could  not  control.  Any  man  who  would  not  have  given  money  for 
houses,  &c.,  would  have  been  driven  out  of  the  field.  He  never  spent 
any  considerable  amount  of  money  that  had  not  been  approved  by  those 
conneaed  with  the  Mission.  Some  of  them  wanted  him  to  spend  money 
faster  than  he  could  get  it.  He  had  traveled  thousands  of  miles  by 
canoe,  and  his  expenses  were  not  one  third  of  any  of  the  gentlemen 
connected  with  the  H.  B.  Co.  The  reason  of  this  was  that  he  traveled  in 
a  smaller  canoe.  So  small  that  they  would  not  risk  their  lives  in  it, — 
and  because  he  never  would  hire  white  men  at  $1  per  day,  prefering 
when  he  could  not  procure  a  full  crew  of  Indians  to  paddle  himself. 

The  Secretary  states  that,  "the  Superintendent  of  the  Oregon  Mis- 
sion has  spent  $100,000  and  no  account  of  disbursements  had  been 
rendered."  Mr.  Lee.  This  I  confess  surprises  me.  When  I  left  this 
country,  I  left  the  account  of  all  the  goods  we  had  bought.  When  I 
came  home  [in  November,  1839]  I  told  the  Missionary  Society  that 
we  had  done  so  and  so,  and  had  so  much  property  left.  This  was  the 
disbursement,  and  was  so  understood  at  the  time,  and  no  complaint 
was  made  about  it.  I  went  back  [in  1840]  and  no  farther  explanation 
was  asked,  and  no  complaint  made  either  to  the  Board  or  to  myself. 
We  might  perhaps  have  sent  the  report  home  one  year  sooner,  though 
that  would  have  been  very  difficult.  We  took  to  Oregon  I  think  be- 
tween $13,000  and  1 14,000  worth  of  goods.  The  Board  knew  what 
salaries  the  Missionaries  were  to  receive,  for  they  themselves  fixed  them, 
and  the  statement  of  Table  expenses  was  sent  regularly  every  year. 
How  much  then  remained  not  accounted  for?  Out  of  the  proceeds  of 
the  goods  taken  out  and  drafts  since  we  have  had  annually  to  pay  a 
large  number  of  men  their  Salaries  and  Table  expenses. ^^ 

The  Chairman  explained  the  kind  of  account  that  was  wanted.  (Mr. 

'^A  missionary's  allowance  is  illustrated  in  the  diary  of  Henry  B.  Brewer, 
the  mission  farmer  at  The  Dalles.  Brewer  wrote:  "My  allowance  for  my 
table,  servant,  fuel,  lights  for  1841  is  2  adults,  $205.41;  Servant,  $50.00; 
Fuel,  $30.00;  Food,  $30.00;  Lights,  $13.50;  Salary  for  2,  $250.00;  Salary  and 
other  expenses,  $548.91." 

Brewer:  Log  of  the  Lausanne.  Oregon  Historical  Society  Quarterly,  XXX, 
p.  117. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         263 

Lee)  There  was  not  a  Clerk  in  Oregon  who  could  have  been  had,  at 
the  time,  to  assist  Bro.  Abernethy  that  such  was  required.  He  had  since 
sent  an  inventory  of  all  there  was,  which  should  have  been  sent  the 
first  year. 

Dr.  Bangs  further  explained  that  the  Board  wanted  an  account  of 
what  was  raised,  and  how  disposed  of.  Mr.  Lee,  that  I  suppose  will 
come  in  regularly  now  that  the  inventory  has  been  made  out.  The 
Board  know  the  amount  of  the  salaries ;  I  do  not  understand  bookkeep- 
ing myself.  (Dr.  Pitman.  But  Bro.  Abernethy  is  an  efficient  book- 
keeper.) Mr.  Lee.  Yes  but  he  could  not  get  help.  He  was  unable  to 
get  his  accounts  written  into  his  books  for  a  long  time.  It  was  ex- 
plained that  what  the  Board  wanted  to  know  was  what  was  raised  on 
the  farm,  &c.,  what  it  cost,  what  each  Missionary  received  from  the 
farm,  and  what  from  other  sources,  &c.  Mr.  Lee.  Well  but  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  farm  all  go  to  pay  Table  expenses,  and  the  estimated  prices 
are  sent  home  every  year  by  the  Estimating  Committee  [in  Oregon}. 

Mr.  Lee  then  entered  upon  the  question  of  the  large  expenditure  of 
the  Oregon  Mission.  From  a  rough  but  he  thought  not  an  overrated 
sketch,  he  would  show  that  the  expenditure  in  Oregon  was  not  so  enor- 
mous after  all.  This  apparent  enormity  of  expenditure  was  in  a  great 
measure  owing  to  the  immense  distance,  The  transportation  there,  the 
extra  expense  of  outfit,  the  freight  of  goods,  the  return  of  Missionaries, 
&c.,  &c.  The  distance  between  this  country  and  Oregon  was  the  great 
vortex  that  had  swallowed  up  $40,000  of  this  money.  This  must  be 
deducted  in  making  a  comparison  with  other  Missions.  Now  suppose 
they  had  $60,000  expended  there;  a  year  ago  they  supposed  their 
property,  not  including  lands,  worth  about  $50,000.  The  school  house 
could  not  be  sold  for  what  it  cost.  The  property  at  all  the  stations  will 
probably  have  increased  in  value  during  the  year.  By  the  goods  sent 
out  the  last  time  Bro.  Abernethy  expects  to  clear  $10,000.  The  Dall's 
property  perhaps  could  not  be  sold,  the  Indians  will  have  no  one  there 
but  Missionaries.  This  would  leave  about  $10,000  expended  in  Ore- 
gon above  what  remained.  He  did  not  think  this  subject  had  been 
properly  investigated,  and  that  for  want  of  looking  into  it,  wrong 
impressions  had  been  made. 

This  statement  showed  that  their  business  in  Oregon  had  not  been 
such  a  sinking  operation  as  had  been  represented,  but  had  yielded 
something  towards  their  support.  Mr.  Lane  said  the  amount  expended 


264   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

had  been  about  $120,000  to  which  Mr.  Lee  replied  that  he  did  not 
seek  to  make  a  false  impression,  and  he  would  say  then  that  it  would 
leave  $30,000,  but  they  expected  to  get  the  land  in  Oregon,  which 
would  be  worth  $40,000;  for  from  the  President  downwards  all  ac- 
knowledged that  they  were  entitled  to  it,  and  he  thought  that  their 
expenditures  in  Oregon  was  the  sole  cause  of  their  favorable  view  of 
this  subjea. 

He  considered  Dr.  Richmond  his  enemy  because  he  had  so  declared 
himself,  and  sent  word  to  him  (Mr.  Lee)  that  he  was  his  antagonist. 
And  he  hoped  as  they  had  heard  his  enemy,  they  would  hear  him. 
He  must  be  heard  by  somebody.  The  Board  then  adjourned  to 
Wednesday. 

Wednesday  Evening,  July  10. 

Present  Rev.  Dr.  Bangs,  Jason  Lee,  Osbon,  J.  M.  Howe,  Lane,  Sut- 
ten,  Pitman,  Wakely,  G.  Smith,  Withey,  Seney.  Laymen,  Messrs.  Hall, 
Dando,  Raynor,  Maclane,  Coon,  M.  Lean,  Loveland,  Cobb,  Brown, 
Skidmore,  Oakley,  Dr.  Stephenson,  Dr.  Phelps.  Dr.  Bangs  in  the  Chair. 
Prayer  by  Mr.  Osbon.'* 

Mr.  Lee  resumed.  He  was  happy  to  hear  from  the  Board  last  eve- 
ning that  they  excepted  him  from  the  charge  of  speculating,  but  he 
feared  this  exception  was  only  in  the  minds  of  the  Board,  and  not  with 
the  public  at  large.  He  judged  this  from  what  he  had  heard  from 
every  quarter.  The  expenses  of  the  Oregon  Mission  might,  from  what 
he  had  heard,  been  thought  unprecedented;  but  this  was  not  the  case. 
A  Mission  from  Mexico  to  Lower  California  cost  the  Government  in 
three  years  $225,000  and  failed.  In  reference  to  the  Oregon  Mission, 
the  reaction  had  already  taken  place.  The  day  of  unwarrantable  ex- 
pectations, in  reference  to  that  Mission,  had,  he  thought,  gone  by.  It 
should  be  sustained,  and  might  be.  With  the  exception  of  the  great 
distance,  it  was  as  cheap  as  any  that  promised  as  well.  In  the  Wala- 
mette  Valley  the  people  were  not  just  now  able  to  pay  for  themselves, 
nor  could  it  be  expected  of  them,  until  they  had  a  Preacher  appointed 
with  the  understanding  that  they  were  to  do  something  for  his  support. 

**The  correct  names  of  the  Mission  Board  members,  already  not  referred 
to  and  present  at  the  meeting  on  July  10,  were:  Dr.  Nathan  Bangs;  A.  M. 
Osbon,  Chairman  Committee  on  Domestic  Missions;  J.  G.  Smith;  J.  M'Lean; 
O.  Loveland;  A.  W.  Brown,  member  of  Auditing  Committee  of  Mssion 
Board;  James  B.  Oakley,  a  manager  of  the  Mission  Board. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         265 

Three  Preachers  could  not  more  than  do  the  work.  Even  then  they 
would  still  require  to  be  dependent  upon  the  Society  to  some  extent. 
The  friends  of  Missions  need  have  no  fears  about  it  in  future,  but 
might  come  up  to  its  support,  with  the  assurance  that  it  would  hence- 
forth be  as  beneficial  as  others  which  cost  the  same  money. 

What  he  was  going  to  say  might  militate  against  him  more  than 
anything  that  yet  transpired.  It  had  been  said  that  [he}  was  a  non- 
commital  man,  yet  arbitrary,  and  precipitate.  He  shuned  no  responsi- 
bility where  he  saw  plainly  his  duty  required  it.  He  alluded  to  his 
superintendancy  of  the  Oregon  Mission,  or  his  official  character,  and 
the  manner  in  which  it  had  been  treated.  It  appeared  to  him  that  in 
his  official  character  he  had  been  tried,  condemned,  and  executed  on  an 
exparty  statement,  and  without  having  been  heard  himself.  He  had 
been  told  by  a  gentleman  of  high  standing  in  society  that  an  unfavor- 
able impression  had  gone  out,  far  and  wide,  and  the  gentleman  ad- 
vised him  not  to  collect  a  single  dollar  for  the  Society  until  something 
had  been  done  in  that  Board  in  reference  to  his  case. 

Mr.  Lee  then  referred  to  the  Missionary  Report,  ^^  and  complained 
of  the  course  adopted  by  the  Board  in  sending  out  Bro.  Gary,  and  the 
remarks  in  the  Report  explanatory  of  that  appointment,  and  his,  Mr. 
Lee's,  deposition.  He  contended  that  that  Report  had  not  assigned  the 
main  reason  for  that  change.  Dr.  White,  though  known  to  have  been 
expelled  from  the  church,  had  made  by  his  statements  an  unfavorable 
impression  upon  the  minds  of  the  Board,  which  had  never  been 
removed. 

Mr.  Lee  then  made  some  strictures  upon  the  [Board}  respecting  an 
agent  and  a  superintendant,  and  sought  to  show  an  inconsistancy  be- 
tween the  recorded  resolutions  and  the  reasons  given  in  the  report. 

'^The  Annual  Missionary  Report  of  May  13,  1844.  The  opening  para- 
graph of  this  report  reads:  "The  superintendenq^  of  this  mission  has  been 
transferred  to  the  Rev.  Geo.  Gary,  of  the  Black  River  Conference.  The  con- 
flirting  and  unsatisfactory  reports  concerning  it  which,  from  time  to  time, 
have  reached  us,  seemed  in  the  judgment  of  your  Board  and  of  the  Bishop 
having  charge  of  Foreign  Missions  [Elijah  Hedding}  to  call  for  a  thorough 
and  impartial  investigation  of  the  conditions  and  prosperts.  We  wish  it  dis- 
tinctly understood  that  it  is  on  these  accounts  Brother  Lee  has  been  super- 
seded in  the  charge  of  this  mission,  and  not  because  there  is  any  lack  of 
confidence  in  his  religious  and  moral  character,  or  of  his  entire  devotion  to 
the  interest  of  the  Oregon  Mission." 

Methodist  Reports — ^Willamette  Mission,  Oregon  Historical  Society  Quar- 
terly, XXIII,  pp.  324,  325. 


266   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Dr.  Pitman  defended  the  proceedings  of  the  Board.  Mr.  Lee  thought 
that  the  truth  of  the  matter  was,  that  an  impression  unfavorable  to 
himself  and  his  administration  had  been  made,  and  that  some  were 
withholding  their  subscriptions  on  that  account.  So  the  Committee 
thought  it  necessary  to  do  something  to  appease  the  people,  and  made 
him  the  sacrifice.  He  believed  it  to  be  the  action  of  the  Board,  and  not 
of  the  Bishop,  who  never  moved  in  such  matters  without  taking  coun- 
cil of  the  Board.  He  claimed  a  right  to  have  been  informed  of  any 
contemplated  movement  that  was  calculated  to  affect  him  in  the  estima- 
tion of  his  friends.  They  might  think  he  was  holding  with  a  death 
grasp  to  the  superintendancy.  It  was  not  so.  They  had  made  him  a 
superintendant  without  his  solicitation,  or  knowledge.  Since  his  con- 
version he  had  never  taken  one  step  towards  an  appointment.  He 
went  nowhere,  except  God  first  opened  the  door.  In  this  case  God 
opened  the  door  and  the  church  pushed  him  in. 

I  did  believe  (said  Mr.  Lee)  when  so  many  offered  themselves,  and 
then  backed  out,  that  I  should  do  very  well  for  a  pioneer  across  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Before  I  had  got  across  the  Mountains  on  my  return 
[in  1838}  my  mind  was  made  up  that  men  might  be  found  who  would 
manage  that  Mission  in  its  future  prospeas  better  than  myself.  And 
I  asked,  on  my  return,  if  there  could  not  be  some  way  devised  for 
some  one  to  supersede  me  in  that  charge.  I  pleaded  my  ignorance  of 
the  usages  of  the  church,  and  that  I  had  been  so  little  accustomed  to 
govern  in  the  church,  &c.  But  all  would  [not]  do.  You  would  not 
hear  a  word  of  it,  and  heavy  as  the  cross  was  I  took  it  up.  I  have 
never  yet  seen  the  time  when  I  would  not  have  been  glad  to  relinquish 
the  Superintendancy.  But  I  do  not  think  my  present  removal  has  been 
done  just  in  the  way  it  ought  to  have  been  done.  Nevertheless  I  [do] 
not  intend  to  make  a  great  fuss  about  it.  I  believe  the  Board  mistook 
the  point,  when  they  took  the  course  they  did.  They  have  made  a 
favorite  of  the  man  they  placed  over  my  head.  He  may  go  to  Oregon, 
stay  just  as  long  as  he  likes,  and  then  return.  He  is  not  required  to 
stay  ten  years.  The  Board  thought  the  public  would  be  satisfied  and 
that  I  should  go  down.  I  think  they  are  mistaken  with  respect  to  the 
public  being  satisfied,  and  will  find  that  they  have  only  increased  the 
impression  that  the  business  has  been  badly  managed. 

Mr.  Lee  then  entered  into  his  personal  history  prior  to  his  being 
employed  by  the  Board,  and  said,  if  he  alone  had  been  affeaed,  he 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         267 

could  have  bourn  it, — and  assured  the  Board  that  he  felt  more  for  the 
cause  than  for  himself.  He  then  continued  his  remarks  upon  the  Mis- 
sion. The  Walamette  Valley  would  require  more  Missionaries  than 
almost  any  other  country,  in  proportion  to  numbers ;  and  at  the  present 
time  there  must  be  a  large  amount  of  missionary  labor  expended  there 
if  they  would  retain  possession  of  what  [they]  had  got.  The  number 
of  inhabitants  had  doubled  last  year.  Of  these  'twas  true  several  were 
pious,  but  a  large  proportion  of  them  were  not  so.  It  was  a  difficult 
thing  to  carry  religion  over  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  school  at  Oregon 
required  another  efficient  man,  if  the  Board  carried  it  on.  It  would  be 
folly  to  attempt  to  carry  it  on  with  the  present  amount  of  employed 
upon  it.  Mr.  Lee  again  entered  upon  his  personal  history  and  future 
prospects,  and  put  in  sundry  documents,  one  of  which  was  a  letter  from 
Bro.  Raymond  requesting  to  be  taken  back  into  the  Mission.  This  Mr. 
Lee  had  refused  to  do,  but  had  promised  to  lay  the  subject  before  the 
Board.  With  Bro.  R.  he  had  had  much  trouble,  and  he  knew  not 
where  to  put  him,  or  what  to  do  with  him.  If  he  was  going  to  work 
a  farm  for  himself  he  would  scarcely  take  him  if  he  would  work  for 
nothing.  He  should  fear  he  would  break  as  much  as  he  would  earn — 
would  work  one  day  beyond  human  strength,  and  then  be  unfit  for 
work  for  a  week.  Was  a  generous  man  when  he  enjoyed  religion,  but 
discontented  otherwise.  In  relation  to  Dr.  White's  charges  made 
against  him  in  the  New  England  Conference,  Mr.  Lee  mentioned  that 
one  of  the  signatures,  Mr.  Joseph  M.  Loughlin's,  attached  to  one  of  his 
testimonials  was  not  written  by  Mr.  M.  L.  nor  with  his  knowledge,  but 
Dr.  White  had  persuaded  another  to  forge  his  name.  Mr.  Lee  then 
[showed]  documents  proving  that  the  report  he  made  of  the  doings 
of  Dr.  White  at  the  meeting  at  the  Catholic  Church  was  correct. 

Bro.  Hines  had  intended  to  come  home  with  him,  not  because  he 
wished  for  his  own  part  to  leave  the  country,  but  because  his  wife 
could  not  be  contented.  He  should  not  wonder  if  he  came  yet.  He 
(Mr.  H.)  wished  to  know  if  they  would  pay  his  expenses  to  and  from 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  Mr.  Lee  thought  they  ought  in  view  of  the 
precedents  established.  Said  that  he  Hines  was  willing  to  go  back 
and  labor  as  long  as  the  Board  required  his  services,  but  if  they  have 
no  work  for  him  he  would  rather  come  home.  He  stands  high  in  the 
community  there. 

It  became  necessary  that  we  should  have  some  one  there  as  Judge 


268    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

with  probate  powers.  We  were  obliged  to  do  something  to  prevent 
bloodshed  about  the  property  of  deceased  persons.  Dr.  B.  [Ira  L. 
Babcock]  was  appointed  [Supreme  Judge,  with  probate  powers,  1841- 
1843],  and  has  gained  the  confidence  of  all  parties. 

The  cry  of  speculation  he  (Mr.  Lee)  doubted  not  had  also  reference 
to  the  building  a  Mill  there.  The  history  of  the  matter  is  this;  The 
Settlers  became  convinced  that  the  H.  B.  Co.  wished  to  monopolize  the 
commerce.  This  injured  the  settlers  and  the  Mission.  They  believed 
they  could  build  a  Mill  [a  flour  mill  in  1841 ;  a  sawmill  in  1842]  at 
the  Falls  that  would  bring  in  other  vessels  besides  the  H.  B.  Go's. 
They  spoke  to  him  about  it,  and  he  told  them  that  he  could  go  into 
no  such  speculation.  They  did  build  one  and  Dr.  M.  Loughlin  put  up 
another  in  opposition. 

Our  people  would  go  and  spend  two  or  three  days  in  a  quarter,  in 
the  business  charging  themselves  with  the  time.  They  thus  gQt  together 
and  discuss  matters,  and  see  each  other's  faces.  But  he  [Mr.  Lee] 
always  parried  off  and  spoke  against  it,  not  that  he  was  much  opposed 
to  that  one  thing,  but  he  thought  it  safest  to  hold  them  back  and  let 
them  feel  that  he  held  them  responsible  for  every  day's  employment. 

Mr.  Pitman  on  behalf  of  the  Board  explained  that  the  Episcopacy 
had  suggested  that  they  should  send  a  Superintendent  to  Oregon, 
instead  of  an  Agent.  And  Dr.  Pitman  further  said  that  Bro.  Lee  was 
still  a  missionary  in  Oregon,  and  the  Board  could  do  or  say  nothing  as 
to  the  future.   It  was  with  the  Episcopacy.^** 

Exoneration  and  public  vindication.  So  well  impressed  were 
the  members  of  his  Mission  Board  with  Lee's  explanation  of  his 
administration  of  the  Oregon  Mission  that  they  at  once  exonerated 
him  from  all  the  accusations  and  complaints  that  had  been  made 
by  his  dissatisfied  associates.  Had  Lee's  statement  been  presented 
to  them  previous  to  Rev.  George  Gary's  appointment,  it  is  improb- 
able that  Lee  would  have  been  dismissed;  and  had  it  not  been  too 
late  to  recall  Gary,  who  by  that  time  had  already  reached  Oregon, 
Lee  might  have  continued  as  Oregon  Mission  superintendent.  The 
Board  did  what  it  could  and  Jason  Lee  retained  his  title,  ''Mission- 
ary to  Oregon." 

'"  Lee  before  Mission  Board,  Oregon  Historical  Society,  Manuscript  Col- 
lection, pp.  66-95. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         269 

Lee's  conferences  with  his  Mission  Board  began  on  Monday, 
July  1,  and  lasted  until  after  Wednesday,  July  10,  1844.  After 
his  public  vindication,  fatigued  in  mind  and  body  by  months  of 
constant  travel  and  numerous  worries,  Jason  Lee  determined  to 
visit  his  Canadian  home  and  there  seek  the  rest  he  so  much  needed. 

New  Hampshire  Conference.  First,  however,  he  attended  the 
New  Hampshire  annual  conference  session,  which  convened  at 
Portsmouth  from  July  13  to  July  16,  1844.  There,  with  his  old- 
time  eloquence,  he  delivered  an  address  on  the  Oregon  Mission. 
Zion's  Herald,  in  its  issue  of  July  17,  1844,  made  this  reference 
to  it: 

Monday  afternoon  [July  15]  at  the  Conference  Rev.  Jason  Lee, 
Missionary  from  Oregon,  then  addressed  the  meeting  on  the  origin 
and  progress  of  the  Oregon  Mission.  He  said  that  hundreds  of  the 
heathen  had  been  converted,  and  that  scores  had  died  in  the  triumphs 
of  faith — that  the  torrent  of  intemperance  had  been  rolled  backward, 
and  profanity  and  Sabbath  breaking  had  been  successfully  rebuked — 
that  a  moral  and  religious  influence  had  been  thrown  around  hundreds 
of  emigrants,  and  that  a  sure  foundation  has  been  laid  for  a  future 
religious  community  in  Oregon.  At  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the 
meeting  was  adjourned  to  half  past  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Mr. 
Lee's  speech  had  great  eflFea,  and  exhibited  a  truly  missionary  spirit.'' 

In  New  York  City  again,  on  Tuesday,  July  23,  he  wrote  his 
Mission  Board,  requesting  one  of  its  members,  toward  whom  he 
felt  he  was  "an  old  friend,"  to  file  with  the  Board's  report  of  his 
hearing  this  letter  of  July  23.  In  it  he  states  that  in  the  draft  of 
the  report  submitted  to  him  for  correaion  he  had  found  many 
serious  errors.  This  letter  is  the  last  he  is  known  to  have  written 
in  the  Atlantic  States.  It  reads: 

Will  Bro.  please  read  this  sheet  to  the  Board  at  their  next  meeting, 
and  gready  oblige  his  old  friend,  J.  Lee? 
Revd.  and  Dear  Brethren 

In  correcting  the  report  of  the  statements  I  made  before  the  Board, 

''•'Zion's  Herald,  July  17,  1844,  XV,  p.  114. 


270    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

I  have  found  several  gross  mistakes,  and  very  many  of  minor  impor- 
tance. So  much  so  that  those  who  only  heard  the  uncorrected  report 
read  in  the  Board  must  have  received  many  erroneous  impressions. 
For  instance,  I  said  $250  worth  of  cattle  fell  into  my  hands.  The 
report  says  "150  head."  The  report  says,  "Bro.  Abernethy  told  him 
that  he  (Mr.  A.)  cleared  on  his  small  goods  $10,000  in  one  year."  I 
said  no  such  thing. 

These  are  only  specimens,  taken  from  among  many.  And  I  will  add 
that  I  found  it  difficult  to  make  a  correct  copy  without  rewriting  it, 
and  this  I  did  not  feel  authorized  to  do.  When  there  was  but  a  shade 
of  difference,  I  have  let  it  pass;  and  also  some  things  of  a  different 
meaning,  if  they  were  true.  And  have  not  in  every  instance  inserted 
the  qualifying  word  I  used. 

Something  was  said  about  printing  that  report.  I  hope  it  will  not 
be  done.  I  think  more  evil  than  good  will  come  of  it.  You  would 
not,  of  course,  think  of  publishing  it  without  the  resolutions  and  docu- 
ments which  gave  rise  to  it.  For  even  the  extracts  I  read  are  not  all 
correctly  quoted  in  the  report.  And  to  give  all  these  things  to  the 
public  I  think  would  be  injurious.  Some  extraas  might  be  profitable. 
It  will  be  a  gratification  to  me  if  the  Board  will  allow  this  sheet  to  be 
filed  with  the  report. 

Yours  truly, 

Jason  Lee.^^ 
New  York  July  23,   1844. 

Jason  Lee  remained  in  New  York  City  until  Thursday,  July  25, 
when  he  deposited  $499  at  five  per  cent  per  annum  interest  in  the 
Bowery  Savings  Bank,  at  110  Bowery.  Interest  at  this  rate  was 
at  that  time  paid  on  all  sums  under  $500.^^ 

Immediately  after  July  25,  Lee  traveled  northward  to  attend  the 
New  England  Conference,  which  was  held  at  Westfield,  Massa- 

'*  Lee's  letter  to  the  Mission  Board,  Oregon  Historical  Society,  Manuscript 
Colleaion,  p.  96.  Lee's  "old  friend"  was  Francis  Hall,  according  to  Daniel  Lee 
in  letter  to  J.  W.  Bashford  (1889). 

^  ®  Letter  from  Viaor  A.  Lersner,  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Direaors,  the 
Bowery  Savings  Bank.  Jason  Lee's  account  number  was  13,939.  Lee's  account 
was  withdrawn  by  George  Lane,  Executor,  on  November  6,  1845,  the  balance 
amounting  to  $515.33.  At  the  time  of  Lee's  transaaion,  the  bank  was  a  small 
institution,  only  ten  years  old.    Its  present  deposits  (1931)  total  $463,877,977. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         271 

chusetts.  Here  he  again  "powerfully  and  successfully  advocated 
the  claims  of  the  Oregon  Mission,"  and  at  his  own  request  received 
the  appointment  of  "Agent  for  the  Oregon  Institute."  *°  It  was 
his  intention  to  travel  in  the  Eastern  states  for  a  year  or  two  before 
returning  to  Oregon,  colleaing  funds  for  the  benefit  of  this  school 
which  he  had  founded.*^  His  Conference  associates  urgently  re- 
quested that  he  accept  an  appointment  within  the  bounds  of  the 
New  England  Conference  and  remain  in  the  East,  but  Lee  refused 
because  of  his  desire  to  return  to  Oregon. 

Daniel  Lee.  On  his  northward  way  toward  Stanstead,  he  stopped 
at  Wilbraham  and  held  a  meeting  in  the  interest  of  the  Oregon 
Institute.  At  East  Haverhill,  New  Hampshire,  where  Daniel  Lee 
was  now  stationed,  he  stopped  for  a  short  visit.  Daniel  Lee,  since 
the  beginning  of  his  Oregon  ministry,  had  been  a  member  of 
the  Haverhill  District  of  the  New  Hampshire  conference  and  at 
the  1844  session  was  assigned  to  East  Haverhill,  New  Hamp- 
shire.*^ In  August,  Jason  Lee  reached  his  boyhood  home  at 
Stanstead,  where  his  sister,  Mary  Lee  Morrill,  wife  of  a  prominent 
Stanstead  farmer,  Archibald  Morrill,  welcomed  him  into  her 
home,**  where  he  hoped  to  find  rest  and  recuperation.  In  the 
late  summer,  however,  he  contraaed  a  severe  cold.  Hardship, 
fatigue,  and  worry  had  undermined  his  naturally  rugged  constitu- 
tion. In  a  letter  to  his  nephew,  Daniel  Lee,  on  October  19,  he 
reports  his  continued  ill  health: 

I  have  been  some  time  under  the  doaor's  care,  and  suffered  much 
from  the  application  of  several  large  blisters,  and  have  been  so  low 
that  I  could  scarcely  walk  across  my  room.  But  now,  I  trust,  the  main 
disease  is  reached,  and  if  that  can  be  removed,  I  hope  to  be  able  to 
proceed  to  my  work.    To  be  resigned  to  do  nothing,  when  I  have 

***  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  August  7,  1844,  XVIII,  p.  207.  Method- 
ist Reports — Willamette  Mission,  Oregon  Historical  Society  Quarterly,  XXIII, 
p.  339. 

*^New  England  Conference,  1845,  Minutes  of  Conferences,  1839-1845,  HI. 

*^  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  August  7,  1844,  XVIII,  p.  207. 

*^  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  p.  314.  Jason  Lee 
Manuscript  CoUeaion,  Oregon  Historical  Society,  p.  97. 


272    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

apparently  so  much  to  do,  I  find  requires  much  grace;  but  blessed  be 
God,  his  grace  is  always  sufficient  for  us.** 

Last  sermon.  One  Sunday  in  November  Jason  Lee  preached  his 
last  sermon.  At  the  request  of  the  local  minister,  Rev.  James 
Brock,  he  delivered  a  stirring  address  to  his  friends  and  relatives 
in  the  little  Stanstead  chapel.  His  illness  had  left  its  mark  upon 
his  countenance.  His  pale  face  bore  traces  of  suffering  and  his 
clothes  hung  loosely  upon  his  wasted  frame.  Always  a  tall  man, 
emaciation  made  him  appear  taller  than  he  really  was.*^ 

His  health  continued  to  fail.  During  the  winter  of  1844  and 
1845  he  was  confined  more  and  more  to  his  bed.  Daniel  Lee 
visited  him  on  January  30,  1845.  He  noted  with  alarm  that  his 
idolized  uncle  was  "mostly  confined  to  his  bed,  being  able  to  sit 
up  but  a  small  part  of  the  day.  He  was  much  emaciated,  had  a 
cough,  slept  but  little,  and  was  exercised  with  severe  pain  a  great 
part  of  the  time."  *^ 

About  one  week  later,  on  February  7,  Jason  Lee  wrote  George 
Lane,  Treasurer  of  the  Mission  Board,  for  the  purpose  of  inform- 
ing friends  of  his  whereabouts.  An  extraa  of  the  message  was 
printed  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  of  March  5,  1845: 

The  effeas  of  a  severe  cold  have  been  gradually  destroying  my  con- 
stitution for  the  last  six  months.  I  have  had  a  cough,  but  it  did  not 
affect  the  lungs.  I  have  been  greatly  afflicted  with  indigestion,  until 
the  pain  in  my  bowels  became  so  severe  as  to  deprive  me  of  rest  day 
and  night.  I  have  been  confined  to  my  bed  for  several  weeks.  I  do  not 
think  I  receive  any  benefit  from  medical  aid ;  and  unless  some  favorable 
change  should  take  place  very  soon,  I  see  no  other  prospect  than  a  few 
weeks  will  number  me  with  them  that  are  gone  before.  I  have  written 
the  above  that  my  friends  may  see  where  I  am  and  how  I  am.  I  trust 
some  will  pray  for  me,  and  others  write  to  me.  I  am  admonished  that 
I  must  close;  but  rest  assured,  beloved  brethren,  for  me  to  live  is 

*  *  Jason  Lee  Obituary  Notice  by  Daniel  Lee,  Christian  Advocate  and 
Journal,  April  23,  1845,  XIX,  p.  148. 

*^  Hines,  Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  pp.  315,  316. 

*'  Jason  Lee  Obituary  Notice  by  Daniel  Lee,  Christian  Advocate  and 
Journal,  April  23,  1845,  XIX,  p.  148. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         273 

Christ,   to  die  is  gain.    Farewell, — be  faithful,   then  we'll  meet  in 
heaven.*' 

Last  letter  to  Oregon.  The  following  day,  February  8,  Lee 
wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gustavus  Hines  in  far-off  Oregon. 
To  them  he  had  entrusted  the  care  of  his  only  child,  and  to  this 
daughter  his  last  thoughts  constantly  turned.  Realizing  that  he 
would  probably  never  see  her  again,  he  wrote: 

Stanstead  Canada  Feb.  8/45. 
My  dear  Brother  &  Sister  Hines. 

I  have  written  you  twice  since  I  reached  tliis  Country,  once  by 
Mexico  and  once  by  Panama.  I  have  heard  nothing  from  you  since  I 
left  you  in  Oahu.  I  have  seen  a  notice  in  the  Advocate  that  Br.  Gary 
had  arrived  and  that  the  missionaries  were  all  well.  I  infered  that  you 
had  all  reached  Oregon  in  safety  and  were  in  good  health.  I  suppose 
that  you  wrote  by  the  same  conveyance  that  Brother  Gary  wrote,  for 
I  have  just  received  news  that  there  are  letters  in  New  York  for  me.  I 
think  I  mentioned  in  my  last  letter  that  I  was  aiSicted  with  a  severe 
cold,  no  medical  aid  that  I  was  able  to  procure  has  been  able  to 
remove  it.  I  have  suffered  severely  from  pain  in  the  bowels,  and  am 
so  reduced  that  I  have  been  confined  to  my  bed  for  several  weeks,  and 
unless  some  favorable  change  takes  place  soon  it  is  my  deliberate 
opinion  that  it  will  prove  fatal. 

If  I  should  continue  to  fail  I  think  I  shall  appoint  an  Executor  here, 
and  another  in  New- York,  these  I  suppose  will  do  all  the  business  so 
that  you  can  draw  whatever  money  there  may  be  in  New- York  without 
any  trouble.  There  will  be  an  opportunity  by  the  "Express"  to  write 
you.  Some  favorable  change  may  take  place,  and  I  may  advise  you  to 
be  looking  out  for  me  coming  around  Cape-Horn  or  threading  my 
way  up  the  Walhamet  in  a  canoe  as  I  used  to  do.  But  if  I  should 
never  make  my  appearance,  what  shall  I  say  concerning  the  "dear  little 
one"  Let  her  have  if  possible  a  first  rate  education.  But  above  all 
do  not  neglea  her  religious  education,  my  Dear  Brother  &  Sister.  I 
must  hold  you  responsible  under  God  to  train  that  child  for  Heaven. 

I  have  nothing  special  to  write.  I  g&x.  no  news  here.  I  suppose  you 
will  get  the  news  in  the  papers.  Tell  Brother  Beers  his  property  is  all 

*'  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  (March  5,  1845),  XIX,  p.  119. 


274   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

safe.  Most  of  it  is  in  the  hands  of  his  own  relatives  who^  pay  six  per 
cent  for  the  use  of  it,  they  can  obtain  it  at  any  time  for  the  same  inter- 
est. The  Missionary  Society  would  pay  no  interest  for  it,  I  therefore 
left  it  where  it  was.  Tell  Meek  I  have  been  unable  to  learn  anything 
concerning  his  business — ^Tell  Doctor  Babcock  that  his  Draft  which  he 
gave  me  was  protested,  I  hope  he  will  pay  the  note  according  to 
promise  the  same  as  if  the  Draft  had  never  been  endorsed  upon  it.  I 
remain  your  aflfectionate  friend  and  Brother. 

Jason  Lee.** 
Kind  regards  to  Dr.  Babcock  and  family  should  you  see  them. 

With  the  passing  of  the  winter  days  of  February,  Jason  Lee's 
health  suffered  a  marked  decline.  Realizing  the  approach  of  death, 
Lee  made  his  second  will.*^  In  late  February,  after  a  consultation 
of  physicians,  his  case  was  pronounced  almost  hopeless.  On 
March  9,  1845,  Jason  Lee  requested  his  niece  to  write  Daniel  Lee 
to  come  to  him.  "Turn  your  horse  this  way,"  he  said,  "as  soon  as 
possible  if  you  wish  to  see  me  alive,"  and  he  added,  "I  know  he 
does,  nothing  would  hinder  him  from  coming  if  he  thought  he 
should  see  me  alive  once  more  before  I  go  hence."  "His  suffer- 
ings," the  letter  continued,  "are  indescribably  severe  most  of  the 
time.  He  often  wishes  to  go  home,  to  fly  away  and  be  at  rest."  ^^ 

On  Wednesday,  March  12,  1845,  Jason  Lee  closed  his  eyes 
in  a  final  sleep.  Shortly  before  his  death  he  lost  the  ability  to 
speak,  although  he  recognized  all  who  visited  him.  His  mind,  un- 
impaired, seemed  to  wander  to  Oregon  and  he  was  once  more  in 
the  land  of  his  adoption. 

A  postmortem  examination,  according  to  Daniel  Lee,  exhibited 
two  strictures  in  the  intestines  which  had  been  the  cause  of  much 
of  the  missionary's  pain,  and  a  diseased  state  of  the  lungs.  The 
right  lobe  had  become  extensively  attached  to  the  walls  of  the 
chest,  and  the  left  lobe  was  found  to  be  ulcerated  in  two  places." 

*  *  Lee  to  Rev.  G.  Hines,  Oregon  Historical  Society,  Manuscript  Collection, 
pp.  107,   108. 

*®  See  Appendix  V  for  a  transcript  of  this  will. 

^°  Lee  to  Mr.  Bond,  editor  Christian  Advocate,  in  Jason  Lee  Oregon  His- 
torical Society,  Manuscript  Colleaion,  Portland,  Oregon,  p.  103. 

^  ^  Daniel  Lee  to  Mr.  Bond,  editor  Christian  Advocate,  Jason  Lee  Manu- 
script Collection,  Oregon  Historical  Society,  Portland,  Oregon,  p.  104. 


LEE  DETERMINES  AGAIN  TO  GO  EAST         275 

Burial  of  Jason  Lee.  On  Friday,  March  14,  1845,  Jason  Lee 
was  buried  in  the  little  Stanstead  graveyard.  The  text  of  the  ser- 
mon preached  at  his  funeral  was  taken  from  Job,  "I  know  that  my 
Redeemer  liveth." 

Daniel  Lee,  in  a  sincere  tribute,  refleas  upon  the  unusual  fact 
that  "he  who  had  been  exposed  to  death  in  so  many  forms,  in  the 
wilderness  and  on  the  deep,  should  escape  them  all  and  return 
to  die  in  the  embrace  of  his  kindred!  .  .  .  His  sun  has  gone 
down  at  noon."  ^^ 

''^  Jason  Lee  Obituary  Notice  by  Daniel  Lee,  Christian  Advocate  and  Jour- 
nal, April  23,  1845,  XIX,  p.  148. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
IN  RETROSPECT 

Jason  Lee  came  to  Oregon  in  the  gray  morning  of  her  history. 
He  journeyed  over  the  Oregon  Trail  while  it  was  still  a  dimly 
blazed  fur  traders'  trail;  and  nine  years  before  it  became  the 
famous  immigrant  wagon  road  stretching  from  the  Missouri  fron- 
tier to  Oregon  City,  Oregon.  He  arrived  in  Old  Oregon  in 
September,  1834. 

His  place  in  Oregon  history,  and  in  that  of  the  entire  Pacific 
Northwest,  is  important.  He  was  the  first  missionary,  either 
Catholic  or  Protestant,  to  enter  the  Oregon  country.  His  arrival 
antedated  the  coming  of  any  Protestant  party  by  two  years  and  the 
planting  of  the  first  Catholic  mission  by  four  years.  He  founded 
Oregon's  first  permanent  American  settlement.  While  it  is  true 
that  about  a  half  dozen  scattered  Americans  were  to  be  found  in 
Oregon  prior  to  1834,  they  made  no  attempt  at  settlement.  Since 
the  days  of  the  ill-starred  Astoria  venture,  there  had  been  attempts 
at  colonization,  but  these  had  all  ended  in  failure  or  disaster. 

Jason  Lee  and  his  party  planted  in  the  Willamette  Valley,  in 
1834,  a  mission  colony  that  grew  into  permanent  settlements  at 
Salem  and  Oregon  City.  They  possessed  the  land  and  built  a 
mission  station  that  became  a  center  of  American  influence.  In 
this  sense,  Lee  laid  the  foundations  of  an  American  state. 

Lee's  vision  of  Oregon's  future  was  prophetic  and  reveals  a 
statesman's  grasp  and  foresight.  Looking  down  the  coming 
years,  he  comprehended  the  important  political  and  economic  de- 
velopment that  was  to  come;  he  saw  before  him  the  "germ  of  a 
new  state."  Although  not  essentially  politically  minded,  Lee 
played  a  significant  role,  in  part  unconsciously  yet  strongly,  in 

276 


IN  RETROSPECT  277 

starting  the  first  ripples  of  immigration  to  this  far  Western  fron- 
tier, first,  through  his  eloquent  and  interesting  leaures  which 
stimulated  an  already  widespread  interest  in  the  remote  Oregon 
country;  second,  through  his  letter  to  Representative  Caleb  Cush- 
ing,  of  the  House  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  the  best  brief 
publicity  document  written  for  the  extension  of  American  juris- 
diaion  over  Oregon.  Pointed,  informative,  reaching  a  wide  public 
as  part  of  a  government  report,  and  coming  from  an  actual  resi- 
dent of  the  disputed  region,  it  deserves  an  important  rank  among 
the  documents  which  helped  to  gain  Oregon  for  the  United  States, 
and  to  place  the  American  flag  officially  over  the  states  in  the 
Pacific  Northwest. 

But  Lee  was  first  of  all  a  missionary.  As  early  as  1837,  with 
characteristic  New  England  clear-headedness  he  realized  the 
futility  of  attempting  to  rescue  the  vanishing  Indian  race,  and 
foresaw  the  future  occupation  of  the  country  by  white  settlers  of 
his  own  race.  With  a  wisdom  superior  to  that  exhibited  by  any 
co-worker  or  mission-board  official,  he  recognized  as  particularly 
the  work  of  the  Mission  Board  and  church  he  represented,  the 
firm  establishment  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  Oregon,  and  the 
provision  of  facilities  for  the  education  of  the  population  that  was 
sure  to  come.  Emphatically  Jason  Lee  deserves  the  title,  "Prophet 
of  the  New  Oregon."  Before  his  Lausanne  company  of  mission- 
aries reached  their  distant  destination,  he  had  formulated  a  plan 
for  an  Oregon  university  which  should  educate  the  children  of 
future  pioneers,  and  had  laid  out  a  large,  well-thought-out  program 
for  the  spiritual  and  social  betterment  of  a  white  Oregon  citizenry. 

Appreciative  notice  should  be  accorded  Lee  for  his  part  in  laying 
the  foundations  of  Oregon's  economic  life.  He  was  an  influential 
faaor  in  introducing  the  cattle  industry  into  Oregon.  He  success- 
fully urged  the  Cushings  of  Massachusetts  to  begin  a  maritime 
trade  with  that  far-off  coast.  Of  prophetic  significance  also  was 
Lee's  informal  commercial  treaty  with  King  Kamehameha  III  of 
Hawaii. 

Jason  Lee  did  not  begin  his  missionary  labors  until  he  was 


278   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

thirty  years  of  age;  he  died  when  only  forty-one.  Only  eleven  short 
years,  crowded  with  all  the  handicaps  of  far  distances  and  pioneer 
conditions,  yet  how  notably  impressive  are  his  achievements!  His 
masterly  conception  of  the  future  commonwealth  of  Oregon  has 
been  abundantly  justified  in  the  strategic  importance  and  develop- 
ment, under  American  jurisdiaion,  of  the  sites  he  authorized  as 
branch  mission  stations:  Nisqually,  near  the  modern  Tacoma,  on 
Puget  Sound;  Glatsop,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia;  The 
Dalles,  the  gateway  to  the  present  "Inland  Empire";  Oregon  City, 
the  finest  water-power  site  then  known  in  Old  Oregon.  The  edu- 
cational foundations  that  he  laid  have  served — and  still  are 
serving — well  the  people  for  whom  they  were  planned. 

Jason  Lee  was  not  destined  to  witness  the  fruitage  of  his  well- 
laid,  far-seeing  plans.  But  "the  years  are  seldom  unjust."  Time 
has  vindicated  the  vision  of  Jason  Lee  and  the  projeas  for  whose 
advocacy  he  suflPered  unjust  recall  and  loss  of  office.  "Virtue,  not 
length  of  days,  the  mind  matures";  and  "that  life  is  long  which 
answers  life's  great  end." 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  I 

LEE'S  CONTRIBUTION  TO  THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE 
OREGON  BOUNDARY  DISPUTE 

The  claim  that  any  one  man  "saved  Oregon"  has  led  to  endless 
and  useless  controversy.  It  is  clearly  an  historical  verity  to  state 
that  no  one  man  at  any  time  was  a  decisive  faaor  in  bringing  to  a 
conclusion  this  diplomatic  dispute.  The  assertion  is  likewise 
historically  sound  that  there  never  was  a  time  when  there  was 
serious  danger  of  losing  the  whole  of  Oregon,  notwithstand- 
ing the  indifference  and  delays  of  Congress  and  of  the  State 
Department. 

The  forced  "sale"  of  Astoria;  the  apathy  or  delay  of  the  State 
Department  in  heeding  the  Petition  of  Astor  for  redress  of  griev- 
ances; the  aggressive  policy  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  within 
the  territory  of  "joint  occupancy";  the  special  interest  of  New 
England  in  problems  relating  to  the  northeastern  boundary — none 
nor  all  of  these  faaors  were  sufficient  to  cause  the  loss  of  Oregon 
to  the  United  States.  A  careful  reading  of  the  aaivities  of  Con- 
gress from  the  close  of  the  War  of  1812  to  1846  will  reveal  the 
fact  that,  while  Congress  slumbered,  the  issue  was  not  dead.  Such 
men  as  Senator  Thomas  H.  Benton,  Senator  Lewis  F.  Linn,  and 
Dr.  John  Floyd  never  lost  interest  in  the  Pacific  Northwest.  More 
recent  investigation  shows  that  Andrew  Jackson  was  awake  to  the 
interest  of  the  United  States  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  From  1830  to 
1840,  publications,  such  as  Rev.  Samuel  Parker's  Exploring  Tour; 
Townsend's  Narrative;  Irving's  Astoria  and  Captain  Bonneville; 
and  Dana's  Two  Years  Before  the  Mast  reveal  a  deep  and  wide- 
spread interest  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  its  problems. 

281 


282    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

The  story  of  the  Protestant  missions  must  be  interpreted  pri- 
marily from  this  point  of  view:  i.e.,  as  missions,  not  political 
undertakings.  Their  contribution  to  the  settlement  of  the  inter- 
national boundary  dispute  was  of  necessity  incidental  to  their  own 
purposes;  especially  is  this  true  of  the  Willamette  Valley  Mission. 
There  is  clear  and  closely  conneaed  evidence  that  from  1838  to 
1846  the  aaivity  of  the  Willamette  Mission  in  the  promotion  of 
its  own  affairs  stimulated  a  deep  and  widespread  interest,  on  the 
part  of  Congress  and  of  the  public,  in  the  fertile  soil,  the  mild 
climate,  the  rich  and  varied  resources,  the  attraaive  scenery,  and 
the  strategic  location  of  the  Oregon  coimtry  which  resulted  in  an 
increasing  determination  to  retain  it,  and  made  the  question  a 
major  issue  in  the  presidential  campaign  of  1844,  with  its 
piauresque  slogan. 

Consider  Lee's  visit  in  1838  to  the  East  with  his  leaures  in 
eighty-eight  cities  and  towns,  including  the  capital  of  the  nation; 
his  meetings  and  lectures  promoted  by  a  great  and  influential 
denomination,  or  denominations,  for  others  than  the  Methodist 
participated;  consider  Slacum's  widely  quoted  report;  consider  the 
Second  Petition  or  Memorial  of  the  Oregonians  framed  at  Lee's 
Mission  House;  the  introduaion  of  the  Linn  Bill;  of  Cushing  s 
elaborate  and  learned  report  embodying  two  Lee  documents,  with 
a  publication  and  distribution  of  10,000  copies;  consider  the  faa 
that  Lee's  widely  attended  and  published  lectures  dwelt  upon  the 
desirability  of  the  Pacific  Coast  as  a  place  of  settlement  and  thus 
assisted  in  awakening  an  interest  that  sent  the  Peoria  Party  to 
Oregon  in  the  spring  of  1839  and  was  a  faaor  in  bringing  between 
eight  hundred  and  a  thousand  settlers,  from  many  states,  without 
previous  inter-correspondence  of  any  moment,  to  a  fixed  point  in 
the  early  spring  of  1843,  with  many  others  in  succeeding  years 
pressing  after  them,  all  bound  for  the  Willamette  Valley;  consider 
the  Provisional  Government  and  the  important  part  Lee's  Mission 
had  in  its  inception  and  promotion;  consider  that  experienced  poli- 
ticians saw  in  the  movement  for  an  American  Oregon  vitality 


APPENDIX  283 

enough  to  make  it  an  issue  in  a  presidential  campaign  on  the  basis 
of  our  claims  to  the  territory, — when  all  these  contributions  are 
appreciated  one  cannot  doubt  that,  though  incidental  and  not  pri- 
mary, the  Lee  Mission  was  a  significant  factor  in  the  settlement 
of  the  Oregon  boundary  controversy. 


APPENDIX  II 

FEDERAL  INTEREST  IN  OLD  OREGON 

1.  A  Tribute  to  Lee's  Service  to  Temperance 
On  December  22,  1836,  there  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River,  William  A.  Slacum,  a  purser  in  the  United  States 
Navy,  sent  out  by  John  Forsyth,  Secretary  of  State  during  Jackson's 
administration,  as  Federal  Agent,  to  visit  the  Oregon  settlements, 
discover  the  relative  number  of  white  men  and  Indians,  the  total 
population,  and  the  condition  of  the  inhabitants.  He  was  also  to 
investigate  a  certain  episode  ^  which  had  reached  the  ears  of  the 
Jackson  administration.   This  incident  will  be  briefly  told. 

While  the  missionaries  were  building  their  first  house,  there 
arrived  overland  from  California  a  party  of  Americans  led  by  two 
men  named  Ewing  Young  and  Hall  J.  Kelley.  Dr.  McLoughlin 
had  received  word  from  Governor  Jose  Figueroa,  of  California, 
that  these  men  were  horse  thieves.  (This  statement  was  found  to 
be  untrue  so  far  as  Young  and  Kelley  were  concerned.)  As  a 
result  of  this  intelligence.  Dr.  McLoughlin  refused  to  have  any 
dealings  with  any  of  the  party.  The  accusation  of  being  a  horse 
thief  embittered  Young.  Later  this  accusation  was  contradiaed 
by  Governor  Figueroa  himself,  and  Dr.  McLoughlin  did  what  he 
could  to  make  amends,  but  Young  remained  unforgiving. 

When  Fort  William  was  abandoned  in  1836,  Young  obtained 
from  Wyeth  a  large  caldron  that  had  been  used  in  pickling 
salmon,  and  with  Lawrence  Carmichael,  another  member  of  the 
California  party,  decided  to  establish  a  distillery  and  sell  whiskey 

^  Edmond  S.  Meany,  History  of  the  State  of  Washington  (New  York,  1909), 

284 


APPENDIX  285 

to  the  Indians  and  settlers/  This  unusual  enterprise  was  a  subjea 
of  anxiety  to  both  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  the  settlers. 
When  Young's  plan  was  made  public,  a  meeting  of  the  Oregon 
Temperance  Society  was  called  at  Lee's  mission  house  on  January 
2,  1837.  At  this  conference  it  was  decided  to  send  a  request  to 
Young  and  Carmichael,  asking  them  to  discontinue  their  enter- 
prise. The  letter  containing  the  request  was  dated  January  2, 
1837,  and  was  signed  by  a  committee  of  four,  of  which  Jason  Lee 
was  the  chairman,  and  by  twenty-six  settlers.  This  request  of  the 
committee  was  strengthened  by  the  cooperation  of  William  A. 
Slacum,  Federal  representative  and  agent  of  the  Jackson  admin- 
istration. Mr.  Slacum  was  authorized  by  the  authorities  at  Fort 
Vancouver  to  tell  Young  that  "if  he  would  abandon  his  enterprise 
of  distilling  whiskey  he  would  be  permitted  to  get  his  necessary 
supplies  from  Vancouver  on  the  same  terms  as  other  men."  Slacum 
advised  Young  to  accept  this  proposal,  but  Young  was  still  inclined 
to  go  forward  with  the  distillery  projea.  Slacum  even  offered  to 
lend  Young  $150.  To  this  amount  he  might  purchase  supplies 
in  Slacum' s  name  at  Fort  Vancouver.  Slacum  also  assured  Young 
that  he  would  grant  him  a  free  passage  to  California  on  his  ship 
the  Loriot.  Young  was  extremely  anxious  to  go  to  California  in 
order  to  clear  himself  of  the  charges  made  against  him  by  the 
Governor  of  California.  For  all  these  reasons,  when  he  received 
the  letter  from  the  Oregon  Temperance  Society  requesting  him  to 
abandon  "the  manufacture  of  ardent  spirits,"  Young  acceded  to 
their  request,  and  on  January  13,  1837,  sent  them  a  signed  state- 
ment that  he  and  Carmichael  would  discontinue  the  distillery 
enterprise.  The  "favorable  circumstances,"  to  which  Young  refers 
in  his  letter  of  January  13,  are  Slacum's  offers  of  aid.' 

Lieutenant  Slacum's  tribute  to  Jason  Lee's  pioneering  service  for 
the  cause  of  temperance  is  impressive.  Slacum  was  not  merely  an 
aaor  in  the  event  described  and  an  eyewitness,  but  the  first  official 
commissioned  by  the  Federal  Government  to  visit  Old  Oregon: 

=  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  pp.  91-98. 

*  Slacum's  report  on  Oregon,  Sen.  Doc.  No.  24,  25  Cong.,  2  Sess.,  pp.  1-31. 


286   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

It  would  be  doing  the  Messrs.  Lees  and  their  associates  injustice  were 
I  to  omit  speaking  of  their  happy  and  successful  efforts  in  establishing 
a  temperance  society  among  men  who  are  generally  considered  almost 
without  the  pale  of  moral  restraint — I  mean  trappers.  And  it  affords 
me  great  pleasure  to  add  that  every  white  man  in  the  settlement  enter- 
tains the  highest  respect  for  the  condua  of  the  Lees  and  their  asso- 
ciates. This  circumstance  is  sufficient  evidence  of  their  worth.  After 
duly  considering  the  great  benefit  that  would  result  to  this  thriving 
country  if  the  distillery  of  Ewing  Young  could  be  prevented  from  being 
put  into  operation;  and  inasmuch  as  he  candidly  admitted  that  it  was 
nothing  but  sheer  necessity  that  compelled  him  to  adopt  the  measure, 
I  told  him  (Young)  that  I  thought  he  had  gained  his  point,  as  I  was 
authorized  by  Mr.  Finlayson  to  say,  "if  he  would  abandon  his  enter- 
prise of  distilling  whiskey,  he  could  be  permitted  to  get  his  necessary 
supplies  from  Vancouver,  on  the  same  terms  as  other  men";  and 
farther,  I  proposed  to  loan  him  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  get  him 
a  supply  of  decent  clothing  from  the  fort,  in  my  name,  and  give  him 
and  his  partner,  Carmichael,  a  passage  to  California;  as  he  informed 
me  he  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  go  thither  to  clear  himself  of  the 
calumny  that  Gen.  Figacon  [Figueroa]  had,  through  Dr.  M'Laughlin, 
circulated  against  him,  producing  in  effect  the  most  unjustifiable  per- 
secution. Mr.  Young  seemed  deeply  sensible  of  my  offer;  and  said  a 
cloud  had  hung  over  him  so  long,  through  Dr.  M'Laughlin's  influence, 
that  he  was  almost  maddened  by  the  harsh  treatment  he  had  received 
from  that  gentleman.  I  left  him  xinder  a  promise  of  receiving  an 
answer  next  day.* 

2.  Federal  Inspection  of  Oregon  Conditions 

Upon  receiving  his  appointment,  Slacum  had  proceeded  to 
Mexico,  whence  he  sailed  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  There  he 
chartered  a  small  brig,  the  Loriot.  He  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River,  as  had  been  stated,  on  December  22,  1836.^  On 
January  2,  1837,  he  landed  at  Fort  Vancouver,  where  he  remained 
a  few  days  as  the  guest  of  Dr.  McLoughlin.  On  January  10  he  set 
out  for  the  Willamette  Valley  settlements  in  a  canoe  furnished  by 

*  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  (January  4,  1839),  XIII,  p.  77. 

*  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  p.  101. 


APPENDIX  287 

his  host,  Dr.  McLoughlin.  At  Champoeg,  eighteen  miles  below 
the  mission,  he  was  greeted  by  Jason  Lee,  whom  McLoughlin  had 
informed  of  Slacum's  arrival.  Lee  conducted  Slacum  to  the  mission 
house  where  they  arrived  at  about  eleven  o'clock  on  the  night  of 
January  14.  During  Slacum's  brief  visit  at  Willamette,  Lee  greatly 
assisted  him  in  his  census  taking,  and  accompanied  him  on  his 
calls  upon  all  the  settlers  in  this  area. 

Slacum's  own  account  of  his  visit  to  Jason  Lee's  mission  house 
is  a  charming  narrative: 

Having  received  a  commission  from  the  late  Executive  of  the  United 
States  to  proceed  to  the  Columbia  River,  to  inquire  into  the  political, 
statistical,  and  geographical  condition  of  the  country,  I  crossed  the 
Continent:  through  Mexico,  and  reached  the  Gulf  of  California.  It 
was  my  intention  to  have  proceeded  through  the  country  bordering  on 
the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  but  meeting  with  difficulties  which  I 
could  not  surmount,  I  was  compelled  to  go  to  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
to  procure  a  vessel  to  take  me  into  the  Columbia.  It  was  here  I  first 
heard,  from  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Parker,  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  N.  York  had  established  a  mission  in  the  valley  of  the  "Willamette" 
(the  Multnoma  of  Lewis  &  Clark)  and  on  my  arrival  at  Fort  Van 
Couver,  the  principal  depot  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  on  the  Columbia, 
I  had  this  information  fully  confirmed  by  Dr.  M'Loughlin,  the  "chief 
doctor,"  who  told  me  the  problem  was  now  fairly  established  that 
the  Western  Indians  were  now  willing  to  receive  instruction. 

I  determined  to  visit  the  mission:  imbarking  in  a  light  canoe,  with 
my  servant  and  six  Indians,.  I  soon  entered  the  Willamette,  or  Mult- 
noma, which  falls  into  the  Columbia  about  80  miles  from  its  mouth. 
Nothing  can  exceed  the  beauty  of  this  noble  river:  although  it  was 
now  mid-winter,  the  hills  were  clothed  with  evergreens,  and  their 
sides  were  fringed  with  ferns  and  wild  flowers  to  the  water's  edge.  It 
was  about  midnight  of  the  second  day  after  my  departure  from  Van- 
couver, when  I  reached  camp  "Maud  au  Sable  [Campment  du  Sable]," 
the  first  settlement  of  the  whites  on  the  river;  and  it  is  now  nearly 
two  years  since  I  was  greeted  by  the  friendly  voice  of  Jason  Lee,  who 
called  to  me  from  the  shore  to  direct  me  where  to  land — for  the  cur- 
rent was  rapid,  and  the  night  was  dark  and  chill.    We  met  on  the 


288   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

shores  of  the  Multnoma;  and  I  trust  I  shall  neither  be  suspeaed  of 
partiality  or  prejudice,  in  speaking  of  my  friend  Mr.  Lee  as  I  think 
he  merits;  for  I  do  not  belong  to  the  religious  sect  that  sent  him 
thither. 

I  am  one,  however,  of  the  few  white  men  who  have  seen  Jason  Lee 
at  his  post,  imparting  mental  and  physical  instruaion  to  those  who 
slumbered  in  the  profoundest  ignorance  of  God's  commandments.  I 
have  seen  him  rearing  the  temple  of  God  in  the  vast  wilderness;  I 
have  seen  him  casting  aside  the  sectarian  prejudices  that  might  have 
influenced  other  men — administering  the  last  consolation  of  our  most 
holy  religion  to  those  who  are  without  a  pastor,  and  of  a  different 
faith — and  when  the  Canadian  mother  pressed  her  dying  infant  to 
her  bosom,  I  have  seen  the  tear  of  gladness  gushing  from  her  eyelid, 
under  the  hope  that  by  his  act  of  consecrating  the  last  sign  of  our 
faith,  her  offspring  was  rendered  worthy  of  being  received  into  the 
kingdom  of  God.  I  have  seen  him,  too,  arresting  one  of  the  greatest 
evils  to  which  the  white  and  red  man  are  subjea,  by  establishing  a 
temperance  society  among  those  who  are  proverbially  beyond  the  pale 
of  moral  restraint.  I  mean  the  trappers,  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Let  it  not  be  imagined  that  their  exit  was  without  danger  or  difficulty; 
for  it  was  not  so.  Jason  Lee  was  openly  reviled  and  taunted  by  some 
of  those  by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  but  he  bore  this  with  the  true 
courage  of  a  Christian  minister:  at  length,  these  very  men  became 
convinced  of  the  purity  and  integrity  of  his  character. 

The  next  night  [Saturday,  January  14,  1837]  about  11  o'clock, 
we  reached  the  mission  house,  being  much  worn  and  fatigued,  and 
soon  retired  to  rest;  the  next  day  I  awoke  to  a  scene  of  the  deepest 
interest:  the  morning  bells  aroused  the  children  to  prepare  for  the 
duties  of  the  day;  they  soon  assembled  aroimd  their  pious  pastor,  and 
joined  in  hymns  of  praise  to  their  great  Creator.  I  will  now  read  you 
an  extract  from  the  official  reports  I  made  to  the  department  of  state, 
and  which  was  printed  by  Order  of  Congress: 

The  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  missionary  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  New  York,  having  heard,  through  Dr.  M'Laughlin,  of  my  intention 
to  visit  the  Willamette  settlement,  politely  came  down  from  the  mis- 
sion house,  distant  eighteen  miles  [to  Champoeg}  to  meet  me  at  this 
place.  In  company  with  this  gentleman,  I  called  on  all  the  settlers  in 
the  lower  settlement,  and  next  day  visited  the  mission  house  and  upper 


APPENDIX  289 

settlement.  No  language  of  mine  can  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the 
great  benefit  these  worthy  and  most  excellent  men,  the  Messrs.  Jason 
and  Daniel  Lee,  and  Messrs.  Shepherd  and  Edwards,  their  assistants, 
have  conferred  upon  this  part  of  the  country;  not  by  precept,  but 
example,  as  I  think  the  following  result  of  their  labors  will  show. — To 
use  Mr.  Jason  Lee's  own  words,  "It  was,  after  having  heard  that  an 
Indian,  of  the  Flat-Head  tribe,  had  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  to 
inquire  of  Gov.  Clark,  at  St.  Louis,  about  the  God  that  the  'pale  faces' 
worshipped,  that  first  led  me  to  think  of  establishing  a  mission  west  of 
the  mountains." 

Two  years  since,  last  October,  Mr.  Lee's  party  encamped  on  the 
ground  where  their  dwelling  now  stands,  immediately  on  the  banks 
of  the  Willamette.  They  commenced  felling  timber  with  their  own 
hands,  and  by  Christmas  they  erected  the  frame  of  their  house  and  had 
it  half  closed  in,  and  fenced  twenty-four  acres  of  land.  In  the  spring 
they  put  in  a  crop,  which  produced  the  first  year,  1835,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  bushels  of  wheat,  thirty-five  of  oats,  fifty-six  of  barley,  eighty- 
seven  of  peas,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  potatoes.  In  the  second 
year,  1836,  five  hundred  bushels  of  wheat,  two  hundred  of  peas,  forty 
of  oats,  thirty  of  barley,  four  and  a  half  of  corn,  three  and  a  half  of 
beans,  and  three  hundred  and  nineteen  of  potatoes,  with  a  full  supply 
of  garden  vegetables. 

They  have  built  a  good  barn,  added  to  their  dwelling  house,  which 
now  consists  of  four  large  rooms,  eighteen  by  twenty  feet,  garret  and 
cellar,  have  a  good  garden,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land 
inclosed  under  good  fencing.  With  the  exception  of  three  months' 
hired  labor  of  a  carpenter,  to  finish  the  inside  of  the  dwelling  and 
make  tables,  forms,  etc.,  for  the  school  room,  the  above  is  the  work  of 
these  pious  and  industrious  men,  assisted  by  the  Indian  children  of 
the  school. 

Their  family  at  present  consists  of  three  adults,  nineteen  full-blooded 
and  four  half-breed  Indian  children,  ten  of  whom  are  orphans.  Seven 
girls  and  fifteen  boys  attend  the  school:  likewise  eight  half-breed 
children  of  the  neighboring  settlers.  The  children  are  taught  to  speak 
English.  Several  of  them  read  perfectly  well.  They  are  all  well 
clothed  and  fed,  and  are  already  very  cleanly  in  their  habits.  The 
larger  boys  work  on  the  farm  in  warm  weather.  They  can  plough, 
reap,  and  do  all  ordinary  farm  work  well.    Several  of  them  evince 


290   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

good  mechanical  genius.  Mr.  Lee  assures  me  that  most  of  the  boys 
have  earned  their  board,  clothing,  and  tuition,  estimating  their  labor 
at  the  lowest  rate  of  wages  allowed  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 

Their  school  and  family  could  be  much  increased,  but  they  do  not 
wish  to  add  to  their  number  until  they  receive  farther  assistance; 
thinking  it  the  wisest  plan  at  present,  for  the  sake  of  example,  to 
attend  strictly  to  the  mental  and  physical  instruction  of  these 
"Neophytes." 

The  land  on  which  the  mission  house  is  established  is  rich  alluvial 
deposit,  interspersed  with  good  timber.  Brother  Lee  acknowledges  the 
kindest  assistance  from  Doctor  M'Laughlin,  of  Fort  Vancouver,  who 
gave  him  the  use  of  horses,  oxen,  and  milch  cows,  and  furnished  him 
with  all  his  supplies.  Indeed,  Dr.  M'Laughlin  has  aaed  toward  many 
of  the  settlers  in  a  similar  manner,  giving  them  the  use  of  cattle  and 
horses  on  the  following  terms:  The  produce  of  the  neat  cattle  and 
horses  belong  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  are  liable  to  be  called 
for  at  any  time.  If  the  cattle  die,  the  persons  holding  them  are  charged 
with  their  value.  Horses  to  be  returned  in  kind,  or  the  sum  of  eight 
dollars,  the  current  value  of  a  horse,  is  charged." 

Mr.  Slacum's  cordial  attitude  toward  Lee  and  the  missionary 
enterprise  was  further  attested  in  conneaion  with  the  purchase 
of  cattle  to  be  brought  from  California.  This  incident  has  been 
told  on  pages  84-88. 

"  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  January  4,  1839,  XIII,  p.  77. 


APPENDIX  III 

JASON  LEE  AND  THE  WALLER-McLOUGHLIN  LAND  CLAIM 
CONTROVERSY  DOCUMENTS 

In  Oregon  much  contention  has  arisen  over  Jason  Lee's  relation 
to  the  Waller-McLoughhn  Land  Claim  Controversy.  This  historic 
dispute  arose  over  the  ownership  of  a  tract  of  land  included  in  the 
town  site  of  the  modern  Oregon  City,  Oregon.  The  documents 
here  presented  will  afford  an  opportunity  for  readers  to  consult 
evidence  hitherto  unavailable.  The  exhibits  listed  on  pages  292 
to  316  were  compiled  by  Dr.  McLoughlin  and  constituted  what 
he  regarded  as  a  defense  of  his  position  as  the  lawful  claimant  to 
the  property  in  dispute  as  against  the  claim  of  the  Reverend  A.  F. 
Waller.  Lee  left  the  Willamette  Valley  in  December  1843, 
learned  of  his  removal  as  Mission  superintendent  in  the  following 
February,  and  died  in  March,  1845.  The  available  letters  written 
by  Lee  between  1840  and  1845,  which  appear  in  this  biography, 
his  statements  before  his  Mission  Board  in  July,  1844,  together 
with  the  documents  appearing  in  this  Appendix,  comprise  all  the 
known  existing  evidence  regarding  his  connection  with  this 
century-old  dispute. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 

There  are  no  satisfactory  published  works  on  Lee's  relation  to  the  "Waller- 
McLoughlin  Land  Claim  Controversy.  The  best  single  collection  of  source 
material  on  this  subject  is  the  series  of  documents  used  in  this  work,  and  on 
file  in  the  Office  of  Indian  Affairs,  Oregon  File,  W  2477,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Copies  of  this  file  are  in  the  Manuscript  Collection  of  the  Oregon  Historical 
Society,  Portland  Oregon. 

In  the  Manuscript  Collection  of  the  Bancroft  Library,  University  of 
California,  are  the  McLoughlin  Private  Papers,  in  McLoughlin's  handwriting. 
They  were  obtained  by  H.  H.  Bancroft  from  Mrs.  Daniel  Harvey,  a  daughter 
of  McLoughlin.  This  collection  does  not  include  several  of  the  important 
documents  and  letters  in  the  Office  of  Indian  Affairs  File  above  cited. 

An  important  statement  by  McLoughlin  concerning  his  land  claim  and 
several  other  matters  is  his  Copy  of  a  Document  Found  among  the  Private 

291 


292   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Papers  of  the  late  Dr.  John  McLoughlin.  (The  original  paper,  of  which  this 
is  a  copy,  is  written  in  Dr.  McLoughlin's  handwriting — Harvey.)  This  docu- 
ment is  printed  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  for  1880, 
pp.  46-55. 

Mrs.  Victor's  monumental  work  in  two  volumes,  published  as  Bancroft's 
History  of  Oregon,  maintains  a  critical  attitude  in  its  appraisal  of  missionary 
activities. 

There  is  a  short  treatment  of  the  Oregon  City  Land  Claim  Controversy 
in  Bashford's  Oregon  Missions,  pp.  216-225.  This  brief  account,  by  a  bishop 
of  the  Methodist  Church,  although  approached  in  a  spirit  of  fairness,  is  writ- 
ten from  the  pro-missionary  viewpoint.  The  value  of  the  work  is  limited 
by  the  faa  that  it  is  based  on  Bancroft's  History  of  Oregon  and  H.  K.  Hines' 
Missionary  History  of  the  Pacific  Northwest,  two  older  secondary  works. 

Frederick  V.  Holman,  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  is  an  able  lawyer's  brief  for 
Dr.  McLoughlin.  This  biography  is  the  best  published  work  on  McLoughUn 
and  is  especially  valuable  for  its  orderly  collection  of  documents,  which  are, 
however,  by  no  means  complete.  This  work  was  published  in  1907,  prior  to 
the  appearance  in  print  of  many  Hudson's  Bay  Company  documents  and  letters, 
now  accessible.  Large  collections  of  Hudson's  Bay  Company  documents  still 
repose  in  the  main  London  office,  and  in  the  branch  offices  of  the  "Great 
Company"  even  at  this  date  (1932).  When  these  sources  become  available, 
the  inviting  task  of  writing  a  definitive  life  of  McLoughlin  awaits  some 
scholar  equipped  with  the  proper  training  and  background  of  research. 

McLoughlin's  Statement 

Office  of  Indian  Affairs,  Oregon  File  WlAll, 

Vancouver,  1st  March,  1844. 
In  1829  I  set  about  building  a  Saw  Mill  at  the  Falls  of  the 
Wallamette  and  had  a  party  residing  there  the  whole  winter.  They 
built  three  log  houses  and  prepared  the  wood  for  a  Saw  Mill  but 
it  not  suiting  my  purpose  to  erea  it  then  I  dropped  it  for  the  time 
and  in  the  spring  of  1830  had  potatoes  planted  there.  In  1832  I 
had  the  mill  race  blasted  and  in  the  spring  of  1838  I  got  all  the 
squared  timber  hauled  to  the  spot  and  a  small  building  ereaed  to 
serve  as  a  house  and  store,  to  replace  the  houses  which  had  been 
built  in  1829  and  afterwards  destroyed  by  Indians.  In  1840  the 
Reverend  Jason  Lee  applied  to  me  for  some  of  the  squared  wood 
I  had  at  the  Falls  to  build  for  the  Mission  and  which  he  would 
return  when  required.  To  this  request  I  agreed,  and  at  the  same 
time  sent  Dr.  Tolmie  to  point  out  to  him  how  much  I  wanted  to 
reserve  for  my  Mill  yard  and  to  show  him  where  he  might  build, 
and  wrote  Mr.  Lee  the  following  letter. 


APPENDIX  293 

McLoughlin  to  Lee 

Vancouver,  21st  July,  1840. 
To  the  Rev'd  Jason  Lee. 
Dear  Sir: 

Yesterday  I  was  informed  that  you  intend  to  establish  a  mission 
at  the  Falls  of  the  Wallamette.  I  beg  to  inform  you  that  in  1830, 
as  is  well  known  to  most  of  the  old  settlers  in  the  Wallamette,  I 
took  possession  of  the  side  of  the  Falls  on  which  I  got  a  mill  race 
blasted,  from  the  upper  end  of  the  Falls,  across  to  the  Clackamas 
River,  and  down  to  where  the  Clackamas  falls  into  the  Walla- 
mette, including  the  whole  point  of  land  and  the  smaller  Island  in 
the  Falls  on  which  the  portage  is  made,  and  which  I  intend  to 
claim  when  the  Boundary  line  is  drawn. 

Though  I  intend  to  send  our  ship  Vancouver  to  Calefornia 
[sic]  still  I  cannot  speak  decidedly  till  she  arrives,  however  I  am 
of  opinion  we  will  send  a  vessel  to  Calefornia  certainly  this  Fall, 
and  when  one  goes  it  will  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  accomodate 
[sic]  Mr.  Crate  [in  charge  of  sawmills  five  or  six  miles  above 
Fort  Vancouver]  with  a  passage  on  the  same  terms  as  those  paid 
p.  (?)  Lausanne  from  this  to  Calefornia.  I  am, 

Dear  Sir, 

Yours  truly, 

Sign'd  J.  McLoughlin. 
Private 

P.  S.  Of  course  this  is  not  to  prevent  your  building  the  store, 
as  my  object  is  merely  to  establish  my  claim. 

Signed  John  McLoughlin. 

McLoughlin' s  Comment 

Mr.  Lee  proceeded  to  erect  a  building  with  the  wood  I  lent  him, 
and  divided  the  building  into  two  apartments,  one  end  for  a 
dwelling  house  and  the  other  for  a  store,  in  the  former  of  which 
Mr.  Waller  resides  at  present. 

In  1841  Mr.  F.  Hathaway  had  some  timber  in  the  Island  to 


294   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

build  as  I  thought  at  the  time  for  a  Milling  Company,  that  had 
been  formed  in  the  Wallamette,  but  I  since  learned  it  was  for 
himself,  however  I  gave  him  formal  notice  of  my  claim,  and 
ereaed  a  small  house  on  the  Island.  He  desisted  for  a  time,  but 
afterwards  proceeded  with  the  building.  When  at  the  Falls  on 
this  business,  conversing  with  the  Rev'd  Mr.  Waller  on  the  subjea 
of  Mr.  Hathaways  jumping  my  claim,  he  asked  me  if  I  had  any 
other  claim.  I  told  him  that  I  had  no  other,  that  the  Falls  was 
the  only  place  I  claimed  in  the  Country.  ''Have  you  no  claim," 
says  Mr.  Waller  "at  the  Clackamas.^"  I  answered  that  I  had  not. 
"Well,"  said  Mr.  Waller,  "my  claim  is  at  the  Clackamas." 

In  the  fall  of  1842  I  heard  a  rumour  that  Mr.  Waller  was  start- 
ing pretensions  in  opposition  to  my  claim  at  the  Falls,  &  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Lee  happening  to  call  here,  I  spoke  to  him  on  the  subjea  to 
which  Mr.  Lee  replied  that  he  had  heard  such  a  report  and  that 
he  had  spoken  to  the  Rev'd  Mr.  Waller  and  that  the  latter  told 
him  [Mr.  Lee]  that  he  set  up  no  such  claim.  Some  days  after 
this,  I  think  in  Nov.,  1842,  Mr.  Stephen  [H.  L.]  Meek  applied  to 
me  for  a  building  lot.  I  told  him  to  selea  a  lot  and  I  would  go 
there  in  a  few  days  to  give  him  possession  of  it.  He  accordingly 
went  to  the  Falls,  but  returned  in  a  few  days  to  tell  me  that  Mr. 
Waller  had  opposed  his  making  a  seleaion,  and  had  told  him  that 
he  was  much  obliged  to  me  for  giving  away  lots  on  his  claim, 
that  he  could  do  so  himself,  on  which  I  wrote  the  following  letter 
to  Mr.  Lee: 

McLoughlin  to  Lee 

Fort  Vancouver,  18th  Nov.,  1842. 
To  the  Rev'd  Jason  Lee, 

Superintendent  of  the  M.  Mission, 
Oregon. 
Dear  Sir: 

When  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  last,  I  mentioned  to  you 
that  I  had  been  informed  that  the  Rev'd  Mr.  Waller  of  your 
Mission,  now  stationed  at  the  Falls  of  the  Wallamette,  claimed  the 


APPENDIX  295 

land  I  claim  at  that  place,  to  which  I  understood  you  to  reply  that 
you  had  heard  such  a  report  and  that  you  had  spoken  to  the  Rev'd 
Mr.  Waller,  and  that  he  had  told  you  he  put  no  claim.  Will  you 
do  me  the  favour  to  let  me  know  if  I  understood  you  correaly 
or  not,  as  Mr.  [Stephen  H.  L.]  Meek  to  whom  I  had  given  a 
building  lot  came  to  me  today  and  informed  me  that  Mr.  Waller 
had  ordered  him  not  to  build  there  as  he  claimed  one  mile  square 
at  the  place.    I  am 

Reverend  Sir, 

Your  Ob't  humble  Ser't, 

Sign'd  John  McLoughlin. 

And  received  the  following  answer: 

Lee  to  McLoughlin 

Wallamette,  28th  Nov.,  1842. 
My  dear  Sir: 

Yours  of  the  18th  instant  came  safe  to  hand  and  I  now  embrace 
the  earliest  opportunity  to  send  you  a  reply. 

I  said  to  you  that  I  had  conversed  with  Mr.  Waller  on  the  sub- 
jea  of  claims  at  the  Falls,  and  that  I  understood  him  to  say  that 
he  set  up  no  claims  in  opposition  to  yours,  but  if  your  claim  failed 
and  the  Mission  did  not  put  in  a  claim,  he  considered  that  he  had 
a  better  right  than  any  other  man  and  should  secure  a  title  to  the 
land  if  he  could. 

From  what  I  have  since  heard  I  am  inclined  to  think  I  did  not 
understand  Mr.  Waller  correaly,  but  I  am  not  certain  it  is  so. 

You  will  here  allow  me  to  say  that  a  Citizen  of  the  United 
States  by  becoming  a  Missionary  does  not  renounce  any  civil  or 
political  right.  I  cannot  controul  any  man  in  these  matters,  though 
I  had  not  the  most  distant  idea  when  I  stationed  Mr.  Waller  there 
that  he  would  set  up  a  private  claim  to  the  land. 

As  I  am  inclined  to  think  I  misunderstood  Mr.  Waller  before, 
I  can  say  nothing  further  on  that  point,  but  as  Mr.  Waller  aas 
entirely  on  his  own  private  responsibility  in  this  matter,  I  would 


296   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

beg  leave  respeafully  to  suggest  the  propriety  of  an  understanding 
being  had  between  yourself  and  Mr.  Waller  on  this  subjea. 

I  presume  he  can  have  no  objeaion  to  state  to  you  distinaly 
his  claim  (if  he  has  any)  if  you  desire  him  to  do  so,  and  I  can 
but  hope  that  a  mutual  understanding  will  produce  mutual 
satisfaction. 

Please  allow  me  to  trouble  you  to  say  to  Mr.  [Dougal]  Mac- 
tavish  [an  accountant  at  Fort  Vancouver]  that  Mr.  Bishop's  draft 
in  my  favour  came  safe  to  hand. 

I  am, 
Dear  Sir, 
Yours  truly, 
sig*  Jason  Lee, 


S.  O.  M. 


To  John  McLoughlin,  Esqr., 
C.  F.  H.  H.  B.  Co. 


McLoughlin^ s  Comment 

When  I  received  the  above  letter  [from  Jason  Lee  of  Nov.  28, 
1842]  I  was  at  the  Falls  and  had  seen  the  Rev'd  Mr.  Waller 
with  whom  I  had  a  conversation  on  the  subjea  of  his  pretension 
to  my  claim,  in  which  he  told  me  that  he  set  up  no  counter  claim 
to  mine,  but  that  he  would  assert  his  right  in  the  event  of  my 
claim  being  withdrawn. 

He  stated  a  wish  that  I  would  let  him  keep  the  land  he  had 
cleared  and  allow  those  to  whom  he  had  given  lots  to  retain  them, 
to  which  I  assented,  as  I  considered  that  his  and  their  residence 
was  beneficial  to  the  place,  provided  he  ceded  to  me  an  equal 
extent  out  of  his  claim  adjoining  mine,  to  which  he  agreed.  Two 
days  after  [in  early  December,  1842]  I  employed  Mr.  Hudspeth 
[J.  M.  Hudspeath,  an  immigrant  of  1842]  to  survey  and  mark 
the  boundaries  of  my  claim,  after  which  he  proceeded  to  measure 
what  Mr.  Waller  had  cleared  and  fenced  upon  it,  and  as  we  were 
going  to  measure  the  same  extent  out  of  his  which  he  was  to  make 
over  to  me  in  exchange  of  the  Lots  I  had  consented  to  his  holding 


APPENDIX  297 

on  my  claim,  Mr.  Waller  suddenly  stopped  and  said  "I  will  keep 
mine,  keep  you  yours.  I  hope  you  will  give  me  a  lot  as  to  the 
others,"  meaning  as  I  had  done  to  those  to  whom  he  had  promised 
lots.  I  told  him  I  would,  but  Mr.  Hastings  gave  him  two  in  the 
same  way  as  the  others,  and  though  Mr.  Waller  was  informed 
in  time  to  apply  for  his  deed,  he  did  not  and  retains  forcible  pos- 
session to  this  day,  but  to  return  to  the  subjea,  surprised  at  this 
unexpected  change  of  purpose  I  stopped  and  looked  at  him  when 
he  repeated  "do  you  keep  yours.  I  will  keep  mine."  I  gave  a  call 
to  Mr.  Hastings  and  Mr.  Hudspeth  and  I  believe  Mr.  [Walter] 
Pomeroy  [an  immigrant  of  1842]  was  there  also,  when  Mr. 
Waller  repeated  the  same  words  before  these  gentlemen. 

The  next  day  [in  early  December,  1842]  as  I  was  embarking 
in  my  canoe  to  leave  the  Falls  Mr.  Waller  came  to  me  to  renew 
the  bargain  and  exchange  but  I  refused  him.  He  came  a  second 
and  third  time  when  I  referred  him  to  my  agent  Mr.  Hastings  who 
was  instmaed  to  accept  or  decline  the  proposals  as  he  thought  best 
in  the  case.  Mr.  Hastings  did  not  accept  the  exchange,  but  agreed 
to  pay  Mr.  Waller  for  the  land  he  had  cleared  on  the  west  side 
of  middle  or  main  street.  He  accordingly  paid  him  twenty-five 
dollars  by  an  order  on  me,  and  I  was  surprised  last  summer 
[summer  of  1843]  to  learn  that  Mr.  Waller  had  put  in  a  further 
claim  for  a  clearance  on  the  east  side  of  the  road,  for  which  he 
demanded  a  hundred  dollars,  and  I  agreed  to  pay  the  sum,  but  the 
Rev'd  Mr.  Lee  aaing  in  behalf  of  Mr.  Waller  would  only  accept 
of  fifty  dollars  for  which  I  now  hold  his  receipt. 

In  the  summer  [autumn]  of  1843  when  Mr.  Ricord  passed  here 
[on  his  way  to  Oregon  City],  he  mentioned  that  as  I  was  a  british 
subjea  I  could  not  hold  the  Falls  of  the  Wallamette.  As  this  was 
the  first  time  I  heard  this  objection  stated  and  hearing  he  was  a 
lawyer,  I  offered  him  a  fee  and  asked  him  if  he  could  point  out 
a  way  by  which  I  could  hold  the  claim  at  the  Falls. 

He  declined  to  give  an  opinion,  but  a  few  days  after  he  and 
Mr.  Lee  came  here,  and  Mr.  Ricord  handed  me  the  following 
letter: 


298   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Attorney  FJcord  to  McLoughlin 

[November  2,  1843.} 
John  McLoughlin,  Esq  re, 

C.  F.  H.  H.  B.  Co. 
Sir: 

In  reply  to  your  proposal  for  retaining  me  professionally  to 
establish  your  claim  on  the  Wallamette  known  as  Oregon  City, 
I  have  the  honour  to  inform  you  that  my  original  design  was  to 
have  merely  passed  through  the  territory  to  the  Sandwich  Islands 
with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  but  since  the  opportunity  is  thus 
presented  for  benefitting  myself  and  others  in  a  matter  of  con- 
siderable importance,  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  serve  you  on  the 
following  conditions: 

That  your  preemption  line  be  so  run  as  to  exclude  the  Island 
upon  which  a  private  company  of  Citizens  have  ereaed  a  grist 
mill,  conceding  to  them  as  much  water  as  may  be  necessary  for  the 
use  of  said  Mill. 

That  the  Rev'd  A.  F.  Waller  be  secured  in  the  ultimate  title  to 
the  two  City  lots  now  in  his  possession,  and  other  lots  not  exceed- 
ing five  acres  to  be  chosen  by  him  from  among  unsold  lots  of 
your  present  survey. 

The  Rev'd  Jason  Lee  on  behalf  of  the  M.  E.  Mission  be  also 
in  like  manner  secured  in  regard  to  certain  lots  in  Oregon  City. 

For  my  services  in  attempting  to  establish  your  preemption  to 
the  land  in  question  the  sum  of  300  pounds  sterling  money. 

The  first  three  mentioned  conditions  are  induced  by  a  wish 
to  escape  the  censure  of  several  personal  friends  in  this  country, 
to  diminish  at  the  same  time  as  much  as  possible  the  opposition 
which  I  am  convinced  will  be  made  to  your  claim  and  to  secure 
in  your  behalf  the  valuable  testimony  of  some  important  witnesses, 
as  to  the  last  my  own  services  will  I  trust  imply  such  an  amount 
of  labour  as  to  render  it  satisfaaory  to  you. 

I  would  desire  not  to  make  public  the  faa  of  my  retainer,  lest 
any  person  unfriendly  to  your  claim  should  in  the  meantime  en- 
deavor to  counter aa  my  efforts.  Conciliation  ought  to  be  observed 


APPENDIX  299 

towards  those  who  heretofore  pretended  to  hold  adverse  posses- 
sion of  the  same  tract  and  such  a  course  as  to  enlist  the  good 
wishes  and  feelings  of  the  Wallamette  Citizens  generally.  To  this 
end  I  would  recommend  the  appointment  as  your  agent  of  some 
one  not  direaly  conneaed  with  the  Hon'ble  Bay  Company. 

In  case  of  retainer  my  labour  will  be  confined  to  the  reduaion 
of  all  such  testimony  as  can  be  had  on  the  support  of  your  claims; 
to  drafting  a  caveat  with  a  written  argument  in  its  support, 
founded  upon  the  treaties  of  amity,  commercial  &  joint  occupa- 
tion, and  upon  the  general  laws  for  the  naturalization  of  for- 
eigners; and  a  letter  of  advice  to  you  upon  the  views  to  be  taken 
of  your  claim,  and  the  course  most  advisable  to  be  followed  by 
you  in  regard  to  all. 

By  such  measures  I  have  entire  confidence  in  the  final  result  of 
your  cause. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be 
Your  Obed't  Servant, 

sign'd  John  Ricord. 

These  terms  of  Mr.  Ricord' s  appear  to  propose  an  ami  [c]  able 
arrangement  where  all  the  sacrifices  were  to  be  made  by  me,  how- 
ever I  requested  time  to  consider,  and  asked  ten  days,  which  was 
allowed,  and  at  the  expiration  of  that  time  I  wrote  him  the 
following  letter: 

McLoughlin  to  Attorney  Ricord 

Vancouver  10th  Nov.  1843. 
John  Ricord,  Esquire. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  have  delayed  answering  yours  of  the  2nd  Instant  [of  Novem- 
ber, 1843}  to  the  present  time  in  the  expeaation  that  our  express 
would  arrive  and  afford  me  an  opportunity  of  visiting  you  at 
Oregon  City  and  of  discussing  the  points  to  which  I  objea,  as 
though  most  anxious  to  do  everything  I  can  to  promote  a  good 
feeling  among  the  members  of  our  little  community,  still  the  desire 


300   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

ought  to  be  mutual.  But  in  the  document  you  gave  me  the  con- 
cessions are  all  to  be  on  my  side,  and  some  of  these  are  perfealy 
inadmissable  as  they  are  out  of  my  power.  For  instance  how  can  I 
dispossess  Mr.  Meek  of  his  lots.  But  before  proceeding  further  it 
is  necessary  for  me  to  know  if  I  am  to  consider  you  as  my  legal 
adviser  or  not,  as  in  the  event  of  my  not  coming  to  terms  with 
those  Gentlemen,  I  wish  to  know  how  you  and  I  will  be  placed, 
and  to  be  candid  with  you  I  do  not  see  how  I  can  do  myself  the 
pleasure  to  accept  of  your  services  on  the  conditions  proposed. 

I  am, 
Dear  Sir, 

Your  Obed't  humble  Serv't, 
Sign'd  John  McLoughlin. 

To  this  I  received  the  following  reply: 

Attorney  Record  to  McLoughlin 

Oregon  City,  17di  Nov.,  1843. 
J.  McLoughlin,  Esq  re, 
C.  F.  H.  H.  B.  Co. 

Sir: 

I  am  sincerely  sorry  to  learn  through  your  favour  of  the  10th 
Inst  [November  10}  that  I  am  precluded  from  serving  you  hon- 
ourably in  the  matter  of  your  claim,  that  is  that  you  decline  to 
comply  with  the  only  proposals  under  which  I  could  with  respea 
to  my  friends  at  the  Falls  hope  to  make  good  your  title.  The 
condition  in  my  communications  of  the  2nd  Instant  were  intended 
to  remove  all  semblance  of  impropriety  on  my  part,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  benefit  your  claim  by  removing  all  opposition  on  the 
part  of  any  person  in  this  country,  while  on  the  contrary  you 
would  find  in  your  friendly  opponent  a  friend  and  cooperator.  I 
do  yet  hope  that  an  interview  with  Mr.  Waller  will  enable  you 
so  to  accomodate  matters  that  I  may  render  you  the  services 
proposed. 

But  if  this  cannot  be  I  shall  then  have  nothing  to  detain  me 


APPENDIX  301 

longer  in  Oregon  and  with  your  consent  should  like  to  pursue  my 
intended  voyage  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  by  the  first  opportunity. 
Will  you  therefore  be  pleased  to  inform  me  whether  I  can  obtain 
passage  on  board  your  next  vessel  about  to  sail,  and  if  so  how 
soon. 

You  enquire  whether  or  not  you  are  to  consider  me  your  legal 
adviser  I  steadily  declined  to  become  such  while  at  Vancouver 
except  upon  the  conditions  presented  in  my  letter,  and  I  hope  now 
that  my  inability  to  become  your  adviser  under  these  circum- 
stances will  not  occasion  in  your  mind  a  distrust  of  my  motives. 

That  I  design  so  soon  to  leave  the  country  is  in  part  the  result 
of  my  not  being  retained  in  your  case,  a  circumstance  which  must 
necessarily  have  delayed  me  till  spring.  I  assure  you  Sir  that  my 
feelings  towards  you  are  in  no  way  changed  and  I  still  as  at  first 
continue  to  be 

Your  humble  friend  & 
Obedient  Servant 

Sign'd  John  Ricord. 

Waller  to  Senator  Linn 

Wallammette  Falls,  Oregon,  6th  Dec,  1843. 
Hon.  Lewis  F.  Linn,^ 

Senator  in  Congress. 
Sir, 

Cut  off  as  I  am  from  all  organization,  by  which  my  fellow 
citizens  in  other  parts  of  the  Union  are  enabled  to  procure,  defend 
and  secure  their  rights,  I  take  the  liberty  as  of  necessity,  to  appeal 
to  you,  the  patron  and  friend  of  those  who  have  first  encountered 
the  trials  and  privations  of  a  Settlement  in  this  faroff  wilderness; 
And  although  from  different  States  of  the  Union,  I  feel  assured 
that  if  any  relief  can  be  afforded  me  which  depends  upon  your 
exertions,  you  will  cheerfully  render  them  in  my  behalf. 

I  came  to  reside  in  Oregon  in  1840  with  my  family  consisting  of 

^  Senator  Linn  died  October  3,  1843.  This  fact  was,  of  course,  unknown 
to  Waller. 


302    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

a  wife  and  two  children — located  upon  a  piece  of  land  then  un- 
occupied by  any  one  else — cleared  a  portion  of  it — built  a  house 
upon  it,  removed  my  family  into  it,  and  fenced,  and  for  two  years 
and  a  half  cultivated,  a  portion  of  the  land.  At  the  end  of  that 
time,  Dec.  1842,  when  emigration  had  fairly  commenced  to  this 
country.  Dr.  McLaughlin,  thinking  to  make  a  favorable  specula- 
tion for  the  Hudsons  Bay  Company,  seized  upon  my  farm,  which 
was  favorably  situated  for  such  a  purpose,  and  had  it  subdivided 
into  Lots  to  sell  to  the  settlers  newly  arrived.  This  he  has  already 
done  to  the  extent  of  some  fifty  or  sixty  lots  of  his  survey,  at  one 
hundred  dollars  each,  and  among  the  rest,  actually  including  the 
lot  upon  which,  according  to  his  survey,  my  house  is  situated. 

Under  these  circumstances  I  have  been  advised  to  file  my  Caveat 
&  Proofs  in  the  office  of  the  Commissioner  General  of  the  Land 
Office  at  Washington,  as  the  foundation  for  my  future  claim  to  the 
land,  whenever  through  the  patriotic  exertions  you  are  making. 
Congress  shall  see  fit  to  prescribe  the  conditions  and  considerations 
upon  which  the  title  to  land  may  be  acquired  in  this  Territory.  I 
have  transmitted  by  the  same  conveyance  a  duplicate  of  my  Caveat, 
&  proofs,  including  a  protest,  to  the  President  of  the  United  States 
for  his  information;  and  praying  for  his  interference  in  my  behalf. 
Also  by  the  advice  of  counsel,  I  have  made  direa  exparte  applica- 
tion by  Petition  in  Equity,  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  for  an  Injunaion,  founded  upon  a  violation  of  the  Treaty 
of  Joint  Occupancy,  avowing  the  Title  to  be  in  the  United  States — 
and  for  a  Commission  to  perpetuate  my  testimony  de  bene  esse. 

Will  you  be  pleased  Sir,  to  examine  the  Documents  alluded  to 
in  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  Jason  Lee,  who  can  more  fully  explain  to 
you  the  merrits  of  my  case;  and  to  further  their  disposition  as 
above  indicated.  If  it  becomes  necessary  to  employ  counsel  to 
submit  my  petition  to  the  Chief  Justice  at  Chambers,  please  selea 
and  employ  one  for  me.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Lee  will  be  able  to  name 
the  most  suitable  persons  in  this  country  to  take  testimony  as 
Commissioners,  and  the  most  proper  person  to  serve  the  Writ  of 


APPENDIX  303 

Injunction,  as  well  as,  to  supply  in  person,  any  circumstances 
which  may  have  been  cassually  omitted  in  the  proofs;  as  he  has 
been  for  many  years  a  resident  in  this  Collony,  and  is  intimately 
acquainted  with  all  the  facts  of  my  case. 

I  know  it  to  be  a  novel  proceedure,  but  although  unprecedented, 
it  is  nevertheless  constitutional,  just  and  right;  and  I  have  con- 
fidence that  widi  your  friendly  assistance  I  shall  prevail/ 

I  am  very  RespeafuUy 
Addressed:  Your  Gbt  Servt. 

Hon.  Lewis  F.  Linn  A.  F.  Waller. 

Senator  in  Congress 

Washington,  D.  C. 

McLoughlin  on  Record's  Last  Interview 

Mess'rs  Lee  and  Ricord  passed  here  [Monday,  December  11, 
1843}  on  their  way  to  embark  on  board  the  Columbia  and  accord- 
ing to  the  invitation  held  out  by  Mr.  Ricord  I  made  the  following 
offer: 

To  allow  the  Methodist  Mission 
2  lots  for  a  Church 

2  do     "    ''  House  for  Clergymen  (men) 
2  do     "    ''  School 
2  do     ''    "  schoolmaster. 
These  lots  to  be  taken  out  of  the  unconceded  lots  in  blocks 
between  streets  no.  8  &  13  and  they  will  restore  me  the  lots 
12  3  4 
5  6  7  8  in  blocks  no.  29  and  4  &  5  in  blocks  no.  28. 

As  to  the  house  occupied  by  Mr.  Abernethy  I  will  appoint  two 
arbitrators,  the  Mission  will  appoint  two,  these  will  nominate  a 
fifth  and  I  will  pay  what  these  arbitrators  state  the  building  is 
worth.  I  will  allow  the  Mission  1  lot  on  which  their  store  is  built, 
1  Lot  on  which  is  the  house  Mr.  Waller  lives  in,  and  if  the 
*  William  Allen  Papers,  vol.  3:40453,  Library  of  Congress. 


304   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Mission  is  withdrawn  or  gives  up  keeping  a  Store,  in  either  case 
the  lots  to  revert  to  me,  and  I  will  pay  for  the  improvements;  or 
if  they  will  give  them  up  now,  I  will  pay  now  for  the  improve- 
ments, and  give  them  two  lots  in  their  place  alongside  of  the 
school  and  church.  It  must  be  understood  in  making  the  estima- 
tion that  Mr.  Waller's  house  was  built  with  my  timber. 

The  Milling  Company  to  go  on  as  they  have  done,  and  when 
the  Boundary  is  settled  if  government  admits  my  claim  I  will 
appoint  two  arbitrators,  the  milling  Company  will  appoint  two, 
these  four  will  nominate  a  fifth,  these  five  will  estimate  the  value 
of  the  work  done  by  the  milling  Company  on  the  Island  and  the 
value  of  the  place  they  occupy  and  it  will  be  optional  for  me  to 
take  their  buildings  and  pay  the  value  of  the  buildings  or  to  give 
over  to  them  my  claim,  and  they  shall  be  bound  to  pay  the 
estimated  value  put  on  it  by  the  arbitrators. 

My  reason  for  wishing  to  get  the  lots  12  3  4 

5  6  7  8  in  blocks  no. 
29  and  4  and  5  in  blocks  no.  28  is  that  I  want  them  for  my 
establishment. 

I  handed  these  terms  to  Mr.  Ricord  and  subsequently  to 
Mr.  Lee,  and  verbally  stated  to  Mr.  Lee  that  I  did  not  see  that 
Mr.  Waller  had  any  claims  upon  me.  But  if  they  could  show  me 
that  he  had  any  I  would  willingly  admit  them,  as  I  did  not  wish 
to  have  his  or  any  other  man's  services  for  nothing,  that  I  was 
anxious  that  mutual  good  will  should  exist  in  our  little  com- 
munity, and  they  both  appeared  to  express  to  me  that  they  con- 
sidered the  terms  fair  and  liberal,  and  seemed  to  regret  that  they 
had  no  power  to  treat  for  Mr.  Waller  for  whom  Mr.  Lee  seemed 
to  interest  himself  much,  and  requested  me  to  call  on  Mr.  Waller 
which  I  promised  to  do  and  have  since  done. 

Mr.  Lee  inquired  if  I  intended  to  take  any  measures  to  repos- 
sess the  Mission  Lots  before  his  return  from  the  United  States.  I 
assured  him  that  I  entertained  no  such  design,  and  would  take  no 
steps  towards  that  objea  that  give  any  trouble.  This  expression  of 
my  intention  appeared  to  ajfford  him  much  satisfaaion. 


APPENDIX  305 

Notwithstanding  what  passed  of  our  last  interview  [on  Dec. 
11,  1843]  herein  given,  I  am  surprised  now  to  discover  that  three 
days  before  that  time  [Dec.  8,  1843]  Mr.  Ricord  had  penned 
a  caveat  against  me,  which  Mr.  Lee  must  have  known,  and  which 
was  to  be  left  to  be  delivered  to  me  by  their  friends  after  their 
departure  from  the  River  and  is  as  follows,  and  which  was  deliv- 
ered to  me  only  on  the  22nd  February,  1844: 

Waller's  Caveat 

[December  8,  1843] 
John  McLoughlin  Esquire 

Chief  Faaor  of  the  H.  B.  Co. 
Sir 

You  will  please  to  take  notice  that  my  client  Mr.  A.  F.  Waller 
has  taken  formal  measures  at  "Washington  to  substantiate  his  claim 
as  a  preemptor  and  actual  settler  upon  the  traa  of  land  sometimes 
called  the  Wallamette  Falls  Settlement  and  sometimes  Oregon  City 
comprising  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  and  being  aware  that 
although  a  foreigner  you  claim  to  exercise  aas  of  ownership  over 
said  lands,  this  notice  is  given  to  apprize  you  that  all  sales  you 
may  make  of  Lots  or  other  subdivisions  of  said  Farm,  after  the 
receipt  hereof,  will  be  regarded  by  my  client  and  by  the  govern- 
ment as  absolutely  fraudulent  and  will  be  made  at  your  peril. 

The  grounds  upon  which  my  client  claims  exclusive  rights  under 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  of  acquiring  a  patent  for  said  Land 
are 

1st.  As  a  Citizen  of  the  U.  S.  1840  when  he  first  took  possession 
of  the  same  and 

2nd.  Prior  occupancy,  building,  fencing  and  clearing  of  said 
land  from  which  he  has  never  removed  his  actual  domicile. 

The  grounds  on  which  he  denies  your  pretended  claim  to  the 
right  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States  of  acquiring  a  patent  to 
the  said  traa  of  land  are 

1st.  That  you  are  an  alien  owing  allegiance  to  a  foreign  govern- 
ment and  therefore  you  are  not  eligible  to  such  a  claim. 


306   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

2nd.  That  you  are  the  Chief  Ojficer  of  a  foreign  corporate 
monopoly,  &  that  would  be  sufficient  of  itself  to  debar  you  of  any 
such  rights. 

3rd.  That  you  have  never  resided  upon  the  Land  alluded  to 
since  the  month  of  December  a.d.  1840  when  you  first  openly 
laid  claim  to  the  same  but  that  on  the  contrary  you  have  always 
resided  and  still  reside  at  Vancouver  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Columbia  within  the  territory  actually  in  dispute  between  the 
two  governments,  at  least  twenty  miles  from  his  land,  and  that 
upon  no  other  principle  than  that  of  omnipresence  could  you  be 
supposed  to  be  settler  therein. 

4th.  That  while  you  pretend  to  hold  said  Lands  for  yourself 
you  in  fact  hold  the  same  for  a  foreign  corporate  body  evinced  by 
the  employment  of  their  Agents  and  partners  as  your  pretended 
Agent  and  as  no  corporation  in  the  United  States  can  acquire 
land  by  preemption,  so  most  assuredly  a  foreign  one  cannot  and 

5th.  That  your  claim  arose,  if  at  all,  more  than  two  years  sub- 
sequently to  his  actual  possession,  building,  fencing,  clearing,  and 
cultivation,  and  that  therefore,  all  other  reason  aside,  it  cannot  be 
so  good. 

I  regret  extremely  the  failure  of  my  endeavour  to  make  an 
amicable  compromise  of  this  matter  between  you,  and  that  my 
client  had  been  driven  to  the  vexatious  proceedings  of  the  Law 
in  order  to  establish  his  rights  as  an  American  Citizen. 

I  am 

Very  respeafully 

Your  Obedient  Serv't 
sign'd  John  Record 

of  Council  S.  D.  U.  S.  and 
attorney  for  A.  F.  Waller. 

McLoughlin  on  Waller's  Caveat 

Notes  on  Mr.  Ricord's  letter  of  8th  December,  1843. 
Mr.  Waller  first  founds  his  claim  on  being  actually  a  Citizen 
of  the  U.  States. 

That  ground  would  hold  good  when  no  preemption  claim 


I 


APPENDIX  307 

existed  but  gives  him  no  right,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  to  com- 
mit an  injustice  by  invading  the  rights  of  others,  even  though 
those  parties  should  not  be  natural  born  American  Citizens.  Even 
Mr.  Linn's  bill  [introduced  December  16,  1841]  has  no  clause 
excluding  foreigners  of  any  nation  from  becoming  Citizens  of 
Oregon,  but  states  that  every  white  male  inhabitant  shall  be 
allowed  to  possess  640  acres  of  Land.  In  regard  to  his  taking 
possession  of  it  in  1840,  I  am  astonished  that  the  Gentleman 
should  say  so.  He  was  and  is  a  servant  of  the  M.  E.  Mission, 
earning  their  money,  and  placed  there  for  their  service  by  the 
superintendent  the  Rev'd  Jason  Lee  who  writes  me  in  his  letter 
of  28th  Nov.,  1842,  '1  had  not  the  most  distant  idea  when  I 
placed  Mr.  Waller  there  that  he  would  set  up  a  private  claim  to 
the  land." 

2nd.  As  to  the  prior  occupancy  building,  I  have  already  stated 
I  got  houses  built  on  it  in  1829/30,  and  wood  prepared  for  a 
mill  but  the  Indians  burnt  the  houses  and  timber  and  in  1838 
Mr,  Douglas  got  a  small  house  built  for  me,  which  house  and 
wood  were  there  in  1840  when  Mr.  Waller  went  there,  and  part 
of  this  wood  was  lent  to  Mr.  Lee  to  build  the  house  in  which  Mr. 
Waller  resides  and  has  resided  since  he  is  at  the  Falls.  Mr.  Waller 
only  came  to  the  Country  in  1840,  but  Mr.  Lee  must  recollea  that 
prior  to  1838  I  told  him  I  was  inclined  to  give  up  my  claim  to  the 
Falls  to  Thomas  McKay  and  let  him  erea  his  Mill  there. 

3rd.  I  am  not  claiming  the  land  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
but  for  myself.  As  to  my  employing  Hon'ble  H.  B.  Co's  Servants, 
the  H  H  B  Cos  Books  as  well  as  my  account  will  show  who  pays 
them. 

The  Methodist  Mission  have  servants  of  the  H  H  B  Co's  whom 
I  transferred  to  them,  though  these  men  were  under  engagement 
to  the  H  H  B  Co. 

Surely  I  have  the  same  right  to  do  for  myself  what  I  did  for 
them. 

4th.  *'Your  claim  arose,  of  at  all,  more  than  two  years  subse- 
quently to  his  actual  possession." 

The  preceding  narrative  will  show  that  in  1841  the  Rev'd  Mr. 


308   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Waller  himself  acknowledged  to  me  that  he  had  his  claim  at  the 
Clackamas.  "Yes,"  said  he,  "but  Mr.  Lee  has  taken  it  for  the 
Mission." 

If  so,  it  must  be  because  he  is  a  servant  of  this  Mission.  If  he  is 
a  servant  of  the  Mission,  and  if  the  buildings  and  clearance  belong 
to  the  Mission  and  have  been  made  at  the  expense  of  that  body, 
how  can  he  claim  in  his  own  right  or  call  it  a  private  under- 
taking? There  are  many  people  here  who  can  swear  that  since 
1829/30  I  have  repeatedly  spoken  to  them  of  the  Falls  of  the 
Wallamette  as  being  my  claim. 

But  the  best  answer  I  can  make  to  Mr.  Ricord  is  the  preceding 
narrative  and  Copy  of  letters. 

sign'd 

John  McLoughlin. 

McLoughlin's  Comment 

I  might  here  add  that  in  summer  1843  speakin[g]  to  Mr.  Lee, 
I  told  him  I  was  surprised  that  most  of  the  members  of  his 
Mission  to  whom  I  had  spoken  denied  ever  having  heard  that  I 
claimed  the  Island  on  which  the  Milling  Company  ereaed  a  Mill 
before  they  began  to  build.  "They  cannot  do  that,"  replied  Mr. 
Lee.  "I  told  them  of  it  before  they  began  operations  at  their  first 
or  second  meeting"  and  the  only  meeting  he  said  he  attended. 

On  the  2nd  Oaober,  1843,  at  our  table  Mr.  Parish  said  he 
never  heard  it,  till  they  began  operations,  when  Mr.  Lee  observed 
to  him  in  my  presence,  "I  attended  your  first  or  second  meeting 
and  it  is  the  only  meeting  I  attended,  and  told  you  that  Dr. 
McLoughlin  claimed  the  Island." 

Letters  of  Sir  George  Simpson,   1841-1843 

.  .  .  To  the  Governor,  Deputy  Governor,  and  Committee  of  the 

Hudson's  Bay  Company,  dated  Fort  Vancouver, 

November  25,  1841 

The  Willamette  River  falls  from  the  South  into  the  Columbia 
in  two  branches,  the  upper  branch  about  8  miles  below  Fort  Van- 


APPENDIX  309 

couver.  It  is  navigable  at  the  season  of  high  water  by  vessels  of 
300  to  400  tons  burden,  a  distance  of  about  15  miles  from  v^^here 
its  waters  unite  with  those  of  the  Columbia,  and  to  within  a  mile 
of  the  Falls  of  the  Wallamette  which  are  formed  by  a  ledge  of 
rocks  that  bars  the  river  across  from  side  to  side,  obstruaing  the 
navigation  and  rendering  it  necessary  to  make  a  portage  of  a  few 
hundred  y[e]ards.  On  this  waterfall  there  are  many  J&ne  situations 
for  grist  and  saw  mills  and  other  machinery  requiring  water 
power.  I  visited  this  spot  in  1828  accompanied  by  C.  F.  [Chief 
Factor]  McLoughlin,  when  it  was  determined  to  take  possession  of 
a  part  of  this  water-fall  for  the  Company;  and  soon  afterwards 
possession  was  accordingly  taken  by  blasting  a  canal  through  the 
locks  and  ereaing  a  house  upon  the  portage.  Of  late,  however, 
the  United  States  Methodist  Mission,  who  seem  to  direa  their 
attention  more  to  temporal  than  spiritual  affairs,  and  exercise 
good  judgment  in  reference  to  commerce  in  the  selection  of  their 
establishments  and  settlements,  have  taken  possession  of  part  of 
this  waterfall,  and  disregarding  our  claims  founded  on  prior 
possession  and  occupation  have  seated  themselves  down  on  the 
portage,  ereaing  buildings  within  our  boundaries.  There  is  no 
question  that  this  country  will  soon  grow  into  importance,  and 
that  the  water  privileges  of  the  Falls  will  become  exceedingly  valu- 
able, and  as  it  appears  very  desirable  that  the  Company  should 
retain  command  of  the  import  and  export  business  of  this  settle- 
ment as  long  as  possible,  to  the  exclusion  of  strangers,  it  has  on 
further  consideration  been  deemed  expedient  to  erect  the  ma- 
chinery now  supposed  to  be  on  its  way  from  England  at  this  place 
instead  of  Puget  Sound  as  was  contemplated  when  the  44th 
paragraph  of  this  letter  was  written.' 

^  The  dispute  over  the  Willamette  Falls,  or  Oregon  City,  land  claims 
which  began  as  above  described,  is  not  yet  laid  aside.  Many  local  writers, 
assuming  that  the  claim  was  Dr.  McLoughlin's  private  property,  with  which  the 
company  had  nothing  to  do,  have  severely  condenmed  the  action  of  the  mis- 
sionaries in  contesting  it.  In  so  doing  they  have  chosen  to  accept  McLough- 
lin's interested  statement  that  the  claim  was  taken  for  himself  rather  than  the 
missionaries'  interested  statement  that  the  claim  was  intended  to  give  the 
British  company  a  monopoly  of  the  water  privileges  at  the  Falls.    Simpson's 


310   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 
John  McLoughlin's  Last  Letter 

Fort  Vancouver,  Columbia, 
20th  November,  1845. 
To  The  Governor,  Deputy  Governor  and  Committee, 

Hon'ble  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
Hon'ble  Sirs, 

34.  As  the  'Tails  of  the  Wallamette"  are  destined  by  nature  to 
be  the  most  important  place  in  the  country,  and  though  there  were 
improvements  on  it,  yet  the  Methodist  Mission  wanted  to  possess 
themselves  of  the  place,  of  which  I  was  informed  in  1840.  But  I 
could  not  believe  that  persons  calling  themselves  Ministers  of  the 
Gospel  would  do  what  their  countrymen  in  the  most  humble 
station  in  life  having  the  least  regard  for  right  would  condemn.  I 
did  not  therefore  give  credit  to  my  informant,  and  you  have  seen 
by  the  documents  I  forwarded  to  you  on  the  subjea  the  very  in- 
sidious manner  they  took  to  attain  their  objea,  and  as  they  wanted 
by  securing  the  place  to  increase  their  influence,  so  as  to  oppose  me 
more  effectually,  to  defeat  them  and  secure  the  place  it  became 
necessary  to  build  there,  and  though  I  might  have  built  there  in 
1842  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  compliance  with  Sir 
George  Simpson's  instruaion  in  the  7th  par.  of  his  letter  dated 
Woahoo,*  1st  March,  1842,  to  whom  in  1829  and  in  1841  I  had 
pointed  out  the  importance  of  the  place,  yet  as  the  Methodist  Mis- 
sion had  excited  a  strong  national  policy  against  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  without  any  cause  whatever  (as  it  is  well  known  we 
never  did  them  anything  but  good)  and  diey  aaed  thus  as  they 


testimony  above  clearly  bears  out  the  contention  of  the  missionaries  so  far  as 
the  origin  of  the  claim  is  concerned.  It  may  be  added  that  as  late  as  March 
29,  1845,  Simpson  wrote  about  "Our  [the  company's]  water  privileges  on  the 
Willamette." 

(The  above  note  is  by  the  editor,  Professor  Joseph  Schafer,  formerly  head 
of  the  Department  of  History,  University  of  Oregon,  and  now  (1932)  Super- 
intendent of   the  Wisconsin   Historical   Society.) 

American   Historical  Review,   October,    1908,   XIV,  p.   82. 

*  Oahu  (Honolulu),  Hawaiian  Islands.  The  reader  may  compare  Simp- 
son's statement  concerning  the  matter,  in  his  letter  of  November  25,  1841, 
addressed  to  the  company  from  Fort  Vancouver,  American  Historical  Review. 
(Note  4  by  Schafer,  ed.) 


APPENDIX  311 

said  from  national  views,  merely  because  we  were  a  British  Asso- 
ciation maintaining  and  extending  British  influence,  I  was  afraid 
if  I  built  the  mill  in  the  name  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  it 
would  be  destroyed,  from  the  feeling  they  had  excited  against  us 
among  their  countrymen;  and  even  if  this  did  not  occur,  as  you 
had  written  in  your  despatch  of  21st  July,  1824,  "We  cannot 
expea  a  more  southern  boundary  of  [than]  the  Columbia  in  any 
treaty  with  the  Americans,"  when  that  occurs  the  Company  would 
lose  all  its  improvements  at  the  place,  which  would  become  the 
property  of  the  Methodist  Mission  and  of  Mr.  Waller,  without 
their  paying  one  farthing  for  them,  in  the  same  way  as  one  Beau- 
bien  dispossessed  the  United  States  of  their  barracks  in  Chicago, 
under  the  pre-emption  laws  of  the  United  States,"  and  as  their 
[there]  was  no  other  way  to  avoid  the  loss,  I  conceived  it  neces- 
sary to  follow  out  the  plan  and  build  there,  but  to  build  in  my 
name.  I  did  so,  and  wrote  in  my  private  letter  to  Sir  George  Simp- 
son, dated  20th  March,  1843,  giving  him  a  short  detail  of  the 
proceedings  of  Mr.  Waller  and  the  Methodist  Mission,  and  stating, 
"In  acting  as  I  have  done,  I  have  only  been  actuated  by  a  desire  to 
secure  it  more  effectually  to  the  concern,  and  to  have  less  dispute 
about  it,  as  I  think  it  can  be  more  effectually  secured  in  the  name 
of  an  individual  than  in  that  of  the  Company,  and  I  wish  to  know: 

"Can  the  Company  secure  the  place  in  their  own  name? 

"If  they  cannot,  can  I  secure  it  for  them  in  my  name?  If  either 
of  these  can  be  done,  I  will  do  it  at  once.  If  the  Company  cannot 
keep  it  in  their  name,  nor  I  keep  it  for  them  in  mine,  I  will  then 
keep  it  in  my  own  name  on  my  own  account.  In  the  meantime,  till 
I  hear  from  you,  I  will  go  on  as  if  it  was  mine." 

In  his  reply  dated  21st  June,  1843,  he  writes,  "With  respea  to 

^  Jean  Baptiste  Beaubien,  who  since  1817  had  lived  on  the  Fort  Dearborn 
reservation  at  Chicago,  attempted  in  the  thirties  to  acquire  title  to  a  part  of 
it.  In  1835  he  entered  a  claim  at  the  Chicago  land  office,  which  was  allowed. 
An  action  of  ejectment  against  the  United  States  agent  was  sustained  by  the 
state  courts.  The  United  States  Supreme  Court  reversed  the  decision  and 
ordered  the  land  to  be  sold  in  lots  to  the  highest  bidder;  but  there  was  a 
general  refusal  to  bid  against  Beaubien,  and  he  bought  in  much  of  the  prop- 
erty.— Quaife,  Chicago  and  the  Old  Northwest,  p.  278;  Andreas,  History  of 
Chicago,  I,  pp.  84-86.    (Note  5  by  Katherine  B.  Judson,  ed.) 


312   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

your  private  letter  of  20th  March  on  the  subjea  of  our  claim  to 
the  Wallamette  Falls,  I  submitted  the  same  to  Mr.  Recorder 
Thorn  '  for  his  opinion,  which  I  beg  to  annex,  and  have  handed 
both  the  letter  and  copy  of  opinion  to  the  Governor  and  Com- 
mittee." You  see  in  this  answer  there  is  nothing  explicit,  nor  is 
Mr.  Recorder  Thom  more  so;  but  if  Sir  George  Simpson  had 
authorized  me  to  take  possession  of  it  in  my  name,  I  would  not 
have  given  five  acres  land  and  five  hundred  dollars  to  the  Rev. 
Mr,  Waller,  and  if  I  had  received  your  Honors  decision  in  time 
(which  I  could  at  the  same  time  I  received  copy  of  Mr.  Thom's 
reply  to  my  queries  in  regard  to  deserters,  as  I  sent  them  by  the 
same  despatch  in  which  I  sent  my  queries  to  Sir  George  Simpson), 
I  would  have  been  able  to  give  a  test  of  proprietorship,  and  would 
not  have  had  to  give  &vq  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  to  the 
Methodist  Mission  for  the  lots  I  had  to  purchase  from  them,  as 
they  had  no  just  or  legal  claim,  and  I  could  have  rejeaed  them, 
and  which  I  did  because  if  it  came  to  a  legal  decision,  I  could  not 
produce  a  legal  test  of  proprietorship  and  all  the  money  laid  out 
there  would  be  lost  and  the  building  go  to  the  Methodist  Mission; 
and  as  all  that  had  been  done  there  was  contrary  to  the  instruaions 
in  yours  of  21st  July,  1824,  I  might  be  blamed,  though  in  build- 
ing there  I  did  so  to  promote  the  interest  of  the  Company  in  order 
to  avert  the  loss.  As  I  was  situated  I  had  no  alternative  but  to  aa 
as  I  did,  as  the  Methodist  Mission  was  broken  up  and  selling  all 
their  effects,  and  as  these  lots  were  required  to  complete  the 
Establishment,  if  I  allowed  them  to  pass  to  the  possession  of 
others,  I  would  not  get  them  without  paying  much  dearer  for  them. 
35.  If  I  had  intended  to  speculate  I  would  not  have  taken 
Abemethy's  mill  (for  if  any  part  breaks,  the  whole  mill  will  be- 
come useless,  as  in  this  country  there  are  no  means  of  repairing  it) 
when  I  had  orders  not  to  erea  it,  but  which  I  did  because  it  was  a 
dead  weight  in  the  stores  of  the  Company,  and  if  not  ereaed  then 
(as  Mr.  Fenton,  the  millwright,  at  the  time  said  and  still  says  he 

•  Adam  Thom,  recorder  of  Rupert's  Land,  resident  at  Fort  Garry   (Win- 
nipeg).  (Note  6  by  K.  B.  Judson,  ed.) 


APPENDIX  313 

would  go  home  at  the  end  of  his  engagement)  the  mill  would 
have  become  a  complete  loss  to  the  Company.  To  sum  up  the 
subjea,  I  erected  the  mill  to  manage  the  business  under  my  charge 
with  more  advantage  to  the  Company,  by  enabling  me  to  oppose 
our  rivals  in  trade  more  effectually.  Having  aaed  with  these 
motives  and  with  these  views  in  compliance  with  the  spirit  and 
tenor  of  your  instructions  and  those  of  Sir  George  Simpson,  I 
need  not  say  how  I  must  feel  at  the  perusal  of  Mr.  Secretary 
Barclay's  despatch  of  30th  Nov.,  1844,  yours  to  Sir  George 
Simpson  of  11th  March,  1845,  and  Sir  George  Simpson  to  me  of 
the  l6th  of  June  last.  And  so  far  am  I  from  wishing  to  speculate, 
that  as  I  consider  (for  reasons  which  I  will  state  in  a  subsequent 
part  of  the  despatch)  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  will  find 
it  to  their  interest  to  carry  on  business  there  as  long  as  the  law 
allows  them  and  as  for  this  purpose  the  use  of  these  premises  will 
be  highly  advantageous  to  them,  and  as  I  intended  them  for  that 
purpose,  I  will  offer  them  to  my  successors  at  a  rent  sufficient  to 
cover  the  wear  and  tear  on  the  buildings,  etc.  with  a  right  to  sell 
them  as  soon  as  I  find  a  purchaser.  But  it  may  be  said,  why  not 
hold  the  claim  in  trust  for  the  Company  as  others  hold  here?  That 
cannot  be  done,  as  I  have  given  building  lots  on  which  the  people 
have  made  improvements,  and  as  the  Company  would  lose  the 
claim  the  moment  it  becomes  U.  S.  Territory,  these  men  would 
lose  their  property;  to  avert  this,  I  can  only  make  a  sale  of  it  to 
an  individual. 

51.  Oregon  City  is  destined  by  nature  to  be  the  best  place  for 
Commerce  in  this  country,  and  is  about  twenty-five  miles  from  this 
place;  and  people  will  prefer  to  pay  dearer  there  than  to  come 
here.  The  Company  this  year  will  sell  goods  there  to  the  amount 
of  £4,000  sterling,  in  which  they  will  gain  something  handsome, 
though  at  present  (as  the  season  for  making  out  the  accounts  is 
not  yet  come)  we  cannot  say  what  the  amount  may  be;  besides 
this,  by  so  doing,  they  keep  their  competitors  occupied,  and  pre- 
vent them  extending  their  trade  to  other  posts,  and  maintain  and 
extend  their  own  influence.    It  was  because  I  thought  Great 


314   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Britain  would  have  the  north  bank  of  the  Columbia,  that  to  facili- 
tate the  farmers  in  bringing  their  produce  to  this  place,  I  took  the 
precaution  to  obtain  a  right  to  erea  a  canal  there,  which  can 
be  construaed  at  a  very  small  expense. 

73.  In  closing  this  my  official  correspondence  with  Your 
Honors,  I  beg  to  observe  that  I  always  thought  that  exerting  my- 
self zealously  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, to  the  best  of  my  abilities,  would  at  least  assure  me  their 
approbation,  if  not  their  protection.  Whether  I  have  done  the  best 
the  circumstances  of  the  case  would  admit  is  not  for  me  to  deter- 
mine; but  I  will  assert  that  I  went  so  far  in  my  zeal  as  to  risk 
my  private  means  to  carry  on  works  at  the  Wallamette  Pals  so  as 
to  secure  it  from  persons  who  wanted  to  get  it  in  order  to  use 
the  influence  the  place  would  give  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  to  which  I  was  also  induced  on  account  of  the 
hostile  feeling  the  immigrants  had  to  the  Company,  as  I  was 
afraid  if  I  did  [not]  give  them  employment,  that  animated  with 
this  feeling  and  urged  by  their  wants,  they  might  make  an  attack 
on  the  property  at  this  place  which  might  be  destroyed,  and  for 
which  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  never  could  get  any  indemnifi- 
cation, and  the  whole  of  the  Company's  business  in  this  Depart- 
ment would  be  ruined.  In  doing  which,  by  Sir  George  Simpson's 
not  writing  me  in  1843,  to  take  the  place  in  my  own  name,  I  had 
to  give  five  acres  of  the  best  ground  for  building  lots,  and  five 
hundred  dollars  to  Rev.  Mr.  Waller,'  and  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  not  giving  me  sanaion  to  take  it  in  my  own  name  '  in 
time  (which  they  could  readily  have  done)  I  had  to  pay  three 
thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  for  improvements  not 
worth  one-half  the  money  and  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
eighty  dollars  for  lots  to  which  they  had  no  claim, — and  to  close 

'  Rev.  Alvan  F.  Waller,  Methodist  missionary.  For  his  controversy  with 
the  writer,  see  Holman,  Dr.  John  McLoughlin,  pp.  105-109  et  seq. 

*  Under  his  contract  with  the  company,  McLoughlin  could  not  engage  in 
any  business,  or  give  attention  to  any  personal  interest.  The  entire  time  and 
thought  of  the  officers  and  servants,  by  contrast,  were  to  be  given  to  the 
company.    (Notes  7  and  8  by  K.  B.  Judson,  ed.) 


APPENDIX  315 

the  business,  it  is  proposed  this  year  to  charge  me  an  advance  of 
100  per  cent  on  the  goods  I  have  had  to  carry  on  the  business," 
when  I  carried  it  on  with  the  spirit  of  opposition  and  made  it  sub- 
servient to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  business  and  interests,  and 
so  little  is  what  I  have  done  understood,  or  more  properly  speak- 
ing, it  is  so  completely  misunderstood,  that  instead  of  being  appre- 
ciated as  it  ought,  I  am  disgraced,  and  my  salary  of  £500  per 
annum,  which  is  a  part  of  the  consideration  on  which  I  renewed 
my  agreement,  is  stopped  without  any  previous  notice  as  I  only 
heard  it  on  the  15  th  June  last.  But  my  condua  must  have  been 
misrepresented,  or  I  must  have  been  completely  misunderstood, 
and  I  trust  that  when  the  truth  is  known,  it  will  be  found  that  I 
have  aaed  with  as  much  zeal  as  if  my  life  had  been  at  stake,  and 
justice  will  be  done  me/° 

•  One  of  the  first  aaions  of  James  Douglas,  in  taking  charge  of  Fort  Van- 
couver, was  to  settle  this  on  a  more  just  basis,  as  reported  by  him  in  a  very 
matter-of-fart  way. 

^°  American  Historical  Review,  October,  1915,  XXI,  pp.  120-135,  passim. 
(Notes  9  and  10  by  K.  B.  Judson,  ed.) 


APPENDIX  IV 

LEE  AND  THE  LAUSANNE  SECRET  SERVICE  FUND 

In  1878,  nearly  forty  years  after  the  event,  Rev.  Josiah  L. 
Parrish,  a  member  of  the  Lausanne  Reinforcement,  furnished 
H.  H.  Bancroft  a  manuscript  book  of  his  personal  reminiscences 
called  Oregon  Anecdotes.  In  this  manuscript,  on  pp.  7,  8,  and  9, 
Mr.  Parrish  recorded  the  rumor  (first  heard  about  the  year  1847), 
that  Jason  Lee  in  1839  had  been  given  a  subsidy  from  the  Secret 
Service  Fund  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  assist  in 
financing  the  transportation  of  the  Lausanne  passengers  to  Oregon. 
Parrish' s  statement  foUovi^s: 

There  is  a  faa  conneaed  with  that  [the  Lausanne  Reinforcement] 
the  Government  had  a  little  hand  in.  I  was  told,  but  I  knew  nothing 
of  it  [then]  and  I  do  not  know  positively  about  it  [now];  but  the 
Fry  and  Farnham  company  [of  New  York]  brought  us  out,  the  adults 
I  think  for  $200  each,  and  the  children  were  graded  down.  The  com- 
pany I  suppose  could  not  bring  us  for  that.  I  understood  after  I  had 
been  to  Oregon  seven  years  [in  1847]  that  the  government  paid  Fry 
Farnham  &  Co.  50  dollars  a  head  from  the  secret  Treasury.  Mr.  Lee 
on  his  remrn  [to  Oregon  in  1839-1840]  got  missionaries  proper  and 
mechanics  of  all  kinds  to  establish  his  work  permanently  in  the  coun- 
try and  make  it  if  possible  self-sustaining  instead  of  drawing  on  the 
missionary  fund  constantly.  The  government  discovered  that  the  mis- 
sionary family,  as  it  was  called  in  New  York,  was  almost  sufficient  to 
establish  a  permanent  colony,  that  is  a  small  one.  The  government  had 
an  eye  to  the  settlement  of  the  boundary  question;  and  I  understand 
afterwards  by  a  member  of  the  missionary  board  that  the  Government 
paid  Fry  Farnham  &  Co.  $50  dollars  on  each  one  of  our  heads.  I  have 
no  doubt  that  that  reinforcement  was  the  settlement  of  the  [Boundary] 
question  really.^ 

^  Parrish,  J.  L.,  Anecdotes  of  Intercourse  with  the  Indians,  MS.,  pp.  7-9, 
in  the  Bancroft  Colleaion,  University  of  California. 

316 


APPENDIX  317 

With  this  reminiscent  sketch  by  Parrish  before  her,  Mrs.  Viaor 
wrote  for  H.  H.  Bancroft: 

A  proof  of  the  favor  with  which  his  [Jason  Lee's}  designs  were 
regarded  by  the  cabinet  [President  Van  Buren's  Cabinet]  is  furnished 
by  the  appropriation  of  considerable  money  from  the  secret  service  fund, 
for  the  charter  of  the  Lausanne,  as  related  by  one  of  her  passengers 
[Rev.  Josiah  L.  Parrish}.  Lee  kept  the  secret,  and  so  did  those  who 
gave  the  money,  until  the  boundary  question  was  settled  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain.^ 

This  rumor  of  a  subsidy  apparently  was  receiving  some  cursory 
interest  in  Oregon  about  1858.  The  Rev.  George  H.  Atkinson,  a 
Congregational  minister  residing  in  Oregon,  mentions  it  in  a  letter 
to  his  Missionary  Board: 

Oregon  City,  November  20,  1858 

...  I  am  told  also  that  he  [a  Methodist  agent}  remarked  "The 
Government  will  not  refuse  us  a  title  to  the  Dalles.  They  will  give  it 
to  us  for  they  gave  our  missionaries  $100,000  to  come  out  to  Oregon 
as  colonists  when  there  was  danger  the  English  would  get  the  country." 
The  man  who  informed  me  said  that  he  had  it  from  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  agent,  and  also  from  another  source,  and  that  he  could  get 
a  copy  of  the  order  at  Washington  for  $100,000  of  the  "Secret  Service 
Money"  to  be  paid  them.  He  says  also  that  Jason  Lee  went  to  Wash- 
ington in  1835  or  1836  [1838}  and  got  this,  and  that  Mr.  Linn  of 
Missouri  introduced  and  advocated  the  measure,  probably  in  secret 
session  of  the  Senate.' 

Reference  to  the  latest  research  on  this  question  is  made  in  an 
article,  "Secret  Aid  for  Oregon  Missions,"  in  the  July,  1924,  issue 
of  the  Washington  Historical  Quarterly.  This  investigation  dis- 
closed the  information,  received  from  the  Treasury  Department, 
that  "their  [the  Treasury  Department's}  accounts  of  expenditures 
from  the  Secret  Service  fund  begin  only  in  1865,  and  their  im- 
pression is  that  the  fund,  as  such,  did  not  exist  before  that  time."  * 

^  Bancroft,  History  of  Oregon,  I,  pp.  176,  177. 
®  Marshall,  Acquisition  of  Oregon,  II,  p.  A6. 

*  "Secret  Aid  for  Oregon  Missions,"  by  Edmond  S.  Meany,  Washington  His- 
torical Quarterly,  July,  1924,  XV,  pp.  211-215. 


318   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

It  appears  that  ( 1 )  to  the  present  time  there  is  no  evidence  that 
there  existed  at  that  time,  1839,  such  a  secret  government  fund, 
and  (2)  that  even  if  such  fund  did  exist,  proof  is  lacking  that 
any  portion  of  it  was  expended  for  the  Lausanne  expedition. 

The  Records  of  Board  of  Managers  of  Missionary  Society  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  New  York  City  has  this  minute 
relating  to  price  of  passage  on  the  Lausanne:  "The  price  of 
passage  for  this  family  in  the  ship  was  for  those  over  15  years 
of  age,  $250.00  each.  Servants,  $125.00  each.  Children  at  the 
rate  of  $16  2/3  for  each  year,  freight  $25.00  per  ton."  ' 

"  From  Journal  of  Foreign  Mission  Board.  Minute  for  January  16,  1839. 
For  a  transcript  of  a  Statement  of  Facts  in  relation  to  the  Oregon  Mission 
as  extracted  from  the  Journal  of  the  Board  for  the  Agent  of  the  Board  to  that 
Mission,  the  author  is  indebted  to  Dr.  R.  M.  Gatke,  Willamette  University. 


APPENDIX  V 

LEE'S  SECOND  WILL  ^ 

This  interesting  document,  drawn  up  on  Thursday,  February  20, 
contains  many  provisions  not  found  in  his  first  will  drawn  up  at 
the  port  of  Honolulu.  These  numerous  provisions,  which  reflea 
the  faa  that  they  had  been  thought  out  carefully,  furnish  bright 
historical  high  lights  on  the  inner  Jason  Lee.  This  will  is  here 
(for  the  first  time)  given  in  its  entirety: 

Drawn  February  20,  1843.  On  this  day  the  Twentieth  of  the 
month  of  February  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  and  eight 
hundred  and  forty  five  at  the  special  request  of  the  Reverend  Jason 
Lee  formerly  of  the  Township  of  Stanstead  in  the  Distria  of  St. 
Francis,  the  Province  of  Canada,  now  of  the  Wallamette  Oregon 
Territory,  Missionary  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  I,  the 
undersigned  Notary  Public,  duly  commissioned  and  sworn  in  and 
for  that  part  of  the  Province  of  Lower  Canada,  residing  in  the  said 
Township  of  Stanstead,  went,  proceeded  and  repaired  to  the  resi- 
dence of  Archibald  Morrill  Esquire  in  the  said  Township  of  Stan- 
stead, where  I  found  the  said  Rev.  Jason  Lee  sick  in  bed,  but  of 
sound  and  disposing  mind,  memory  and  understanding  as  testified 
by  the  witnesses  hereinafter  named  called  to  the  effeas  hereof. 

Dictates  to  notary.  Which  said  Reverend  Jason  Lee,  declared 
that  considering  the  certainty  of  death,  and  the  uncertainty  of  the 
time  thereof,  and  in  order  the  better  to  be  prepared  to  leave  this 
world  whenever  it  shall  please  Almighty  God  to  call  him  hence, 
he  was  desirous  of  making  and  publishing  this  his  last  will  and 
testament,  and  therefore  requested  of  me  the  said  undersigned 

*  In  Oregon  Historical  Society  Manuscript  Collection,  pp.  97-100. 

319 


320   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

notary  public,  to  take  the  same  accordingly,  Whereupon  the  said 
Reverend  Jason  Lee  did  and  hereby  doth  make,  declare  and  diaate 
this  his  last  Will  and  Testament  to  me  the  undersigned  Notary 
Public  in  the  Presence  of  the  said  Witnesses  hereinafter  named  as 
aforesaid  word  by  word  as  follows. 

Religious  invocation.  That  is  to  say,  I  the  said  Reverend  Jason 
Lee  Testator  do  first  and  principally  commend  my  soul  into  the 
hands  of  Almighty  God  my  creator  hoping  for  the  remission  of 
all  my  sins  and  to  enjoy  everlasting  happiness  in  his  heavenly 
Kingdom  through  the  sole  merits  of  Jesus  Christ  my  Redeemer, 
and  my  body  I  commit  to  the  earth,  to  be  entered  in  such  decent 
manner  as  the  Executors  of  this  my  last  Will  and  Testament  herein- 
after named  may  deem  proper. 

Debts,  Secondly,  I  order  and  diaate  that  all  such  debts  as  I 
shall  justly  owe  at  the  time  of  my  decease  shall  and  will  be  fully 
paid  and  discharged  by  my  Executors  hereinafter  named,  out  of 
my  personal  estate. 

A  small  gift.  Thirdly,  I  the  said  Testator  did  and  do  hereby 
gvjQ  devise  and  bequeathe  unto  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lee  of  said 
Stanstead,  widow  relict  of  the  late  Theodore  Pool  deceased,  in  his 
life  time  of  said  Stanstead,  Farmer,  the  sum  of  Twelve  pounds 
ten  Shillings  current  money  of  this  Province. 

Twenty-five  dollars.  Fourthly,  I,  the  said  Testator,  did  and  do 
hereby  give,  devise  and  bequeath  unto  Mrs.  Judith  Merill 
[Morrill]  wife  of  Daniel  Lee  of  said  Stanstead,  Farmer,  the  sum 
of  Twenty-five  dollars,  and  unto  the  said  Daniel  Lee,  my  Pilot 
cloth  short  Overcoat. 

Remembers  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ede  Lee.  Fifthly,  I  give,  devise  and 
bequeath  unto  Mrs.  Mary  Pinkham  wife  of  Edd  [Ede]  Lee 
Senior  of  Stanstead  Farmer,  the  sum  of  Twenty-five  dollars,  and 
unto  the  said  Edd  [Ede]  Lee,  Senior,  my  longest  overcoat. 

Oregon  Institute.  Sixthly,  I,  the  said  Testator,  did  and  do 
hereby  giwt,  devise  and  bequeath  unto  the  Oregon  Institute  the 
sum  of  One  hundred  dollars. 

Money  in  Bowery  Savings  Bank.   It  is  my  will  and  intention 


APPENDIX  321 

that  the  above  mentioned  legacies  and  bequests  shall  and  will  be 
paid  by  the  said  Archibald  Morrell  Esquire,  one  of  my  Executors 
hereinafter  named,  out  of  my  personal  property  and  effects  that 
may  be  found  to  me  belonging  at  the  time  of  my  decease,  in  the 
said  Province  of  Canada,  but  if  the  same  should  be  found  in- 
sufficient for  that  purpose  in  that  case  the  ballance  of  said  legacies 
and  bequests  as  vi^ell  as  all  other  lawful  debts  and  expenses  as  I 
shall  owe  at  my  decease  shall  be  paid  by  the  said  Archibald  Morrell 
Esquire  out  of  such  monies  as  I  own  and  have  deposited  in  the 
Bowery  Savings  Bank  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  one  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Lucy  Anna  Maria  Lee.  Seventhly,  And  as  to  the  remainder  of 
all  the  personal  and  moveable  property  and  estate  that  may  be 
found  to  me  belonging  or  to  which  I  may  in  any  way  be  entitled 
at  the  time  of  my  decease,  as  well  in  any  part  of  the  United  States 
of  America  as  in  any  part  of  the  said  Territory  of  Oregon  or  else- 
where, I  the  said  Testator  did  and  do  hereby  give,  grant,  devise, 
and  bequeath  the  whole  of  the  same  unto  my  beloved  daughter 
Lucy  Anna  Maria  Lee  a  minor  aged  three  years,  issue  of  the 
marriage  between  me  and  the  late  Lucy  Thomson.  To  have  and 
to  hold  of  the  same  unto  my  said  beloved  daughter,  her  heirs  and 
assigns  to  the  use,  benefit  and  behalf  of  my  said  beloved  daughter, 
her  heirs  and  assigns  from  the  day  of  my  decease  forever  by  virtue 
hereof. 

Guardian.  Eighthly,  I,  the  said  Testator,  do  hereby  make,  name, 
constitute  and  appoint  the  Reverend  Gustavus  Hines  of  Walla- 
mette  Oregon  Territory  aforesaid.  Missionary  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Giurch  to  be  the  lawful  tutor  and  Guardian  of  my  said 
beloved  minor  child,  the  said  Lucy  Anna  Maria  Lee,  from  the  day 
of  my  decease,  with  full  powers  and  authority  to  take  care  of  the 
person  and  protect  the  rights,  property  and  interests  of  my  said 
minor  child  until  she  shall  attain  the  age  of  Twenty-one  years. 

Tombstone.  Ninthly,  I  order  and  direa  that  a  marble  stone 
shall  be  placed  at  my  grave  with  such  inscription  thereon  as  my 
friends  may  see  fit. 


322   JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

Executors,  And  for  the  due  execution  hereof  I,  the  said  Tes- 
tator, do  hereby  make,  name,  constitute  and  appoint  the  said 
Archibald  [Morrill]  Esquire  the  said  Reverend  Gustavus  Hines, 
also  Mr.  George  Abernethy  of  Wallamette  aforesaid,  Missionary 
Steward,  also  Mr.  Alanson  Beers  also  of  Wallamette  aforesaid 
Farmer,  and  the  Rev.  George  Lane  of  the  said  city  of  New  York, 
Treasurer  of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  to  be  Executors  jointly  and  severally  of  this  my  last  Will 
and  Testament  into  whose  hands  I  hereby  direa  and  dispose  myself 
of  all  my  said  property  according  to  law. 

Witnesses.  Thus  done,  published  and  diaated  word  by  word 
as  aforesaid  on  the  day  and  year  first  above  written.  In  faith  and 
testimony  whereof  the  said  testator  in  the  presence  of  the  said 
Notary  Public  and  Mr.  Eli  Bangs  and  Joseph  Morrell  both  of 
Stanstead  aforesaid  Farmers,  Witnesses  to  the  Execution  hereof, 
hereunto  also  subscribing  our  names  and  signatures,  in  faith  and 
testimony  of  these  presents. 

This  same  having  been  first  twice  duly  read,  the  said  testator 
still  presisted  in  this  being  his  last  Will  and  Testament. 
Signed,  Jason  Lee.  Eli  Bangs, 
Joseph  Morrill,  and  C.  A.  Richardson  N.  P.'' 

*  To  simplify  the  reading,  the  author  has  made  some  changes  in  paragraph- 
ing, capitalization,  and  punctuation;  and  has  introduced  headings. 


APPENDIX  VI 
REMOVAL  OF  LEE'S  ASHES  FROM  STANSTEAD  TO  SALEM 

"In  the  year  1904,  Mrs.  Smith  French  of  The  Dalles,  Oregon, 
held  some  correspondence  with  Col.  Frederick  D.  Butterfield,  of 
Derby  Line,  Vermont,  suggesting  the  desirability  of  removing  the 
remains  of  Jason  Lee  from  Stanstead,  Canada,  to  the  Lee  Mission 
Cemetery,  Salem,  Oregon.  This  resulted  in  a  proposal  on  the  part 
of  Col.  Butterfield  to  superintend  and  bear  the  entire  expense  of 
disinterring  the  remains  and  shipping  them,  with  the  tombstone, 
to  Portland,  Oregon,  provided  suitable  arrangements  were  made 
to  receive  and  reinter  them. 

"At  the  session  of  the  Columbia  River  Annual  Conference  of 
the  M.  E.  Church,  held  at  The  Dalles  in  1904,  Mrs.  French  had 
a  resolution  presented  to  accept  the  generous  offer.  Immediately 
the  Conference  took  up  the  matter  and  appointed  a  committee  of 
arrangements  to  unite  with  one  on  the  part  of  the  Oregon  Confer- 
ence, which  joint  committees  were  to  have  charge  of  the  services 
and  provide  a  program  for  the  reinterment  of  Jason  Lee's  remains. 
These  committees  were,  on  the  part  of  the  Columbia  River  Con- 
ference, Rev.  Robt.  A.  Booth,  Rev.  Walton  Skipworth,  and  Mrs. 
Smith  French.  For  the  Oregon  Conference,  Dr.  J.  H.  Coleman, 
Amadee  M.  Smith,  and  F.  H.  Grubbs. 

"The  remains  were  expressed  from  Derby  Line  to  Portland, 
Oregon,  in  care  of  F.  H.  Grubbs,  and  deposited  in  the  safety 
vault  of  the  Title  Guarantee  and  Trust  Company,  Chamber  of 
Commerce  Building,  Portland,  awaiting  a  suitable  occasion  for 
reinterment  in  Lee  Mission  Cemetery,  Salem,  Oregon.  The  time 
chosen  was  June  15th  in  conneaion  with  the  sixty-second  annual 
commencement  of  Willamette  University,  June  15,  1906."  * 

^  Grubbs,  Francis  H.,  Memorial  Souvenir  of  Jason  Lee,  p.  2. 

323 


APPENDIX  VII 
LEE'S  GRAVESTONE  INSCRIPTION 

SACRED 
To  the  Memory  of  the 
REV.  JASON  LEE. 
an  itinerant  minister  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
member  of  the  New  England  Conference, 
and  the  first  Missionary  to  the  Indians 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
He  was  born 
in  Stansted,  L.  C,  June  27,  1803. 
Converted 
in  1826  under  the  labors  of  the  Wesleyan 
Missionaries,  Mr.  Pope  and  Turner,  and  commenced 
his  ministry  in  1832  among  the  Wesleyan  Methodists, 
preaching  in  Stansted  and  the  adjoining  towns 
till  1833,  when  he  was  called  to  engage  in  the 
Oregon  Mission. 
To  this 
Godlike  Enterprise 
he  devoted  all  his  talents,  in  labors  abundant 
he  laid  all  on  the  missionary  altar,  counting  not 
his  life  dear  that  the  Red-men  might  be  saved. 

In  this  work 
he  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  first  in  1834, 

and  again  in  1838. 
July  16th,  1837,  he  married  Anna  Maria  Pitman 
of  New  York,  who  died  in  Oregon  June  26th,  1838. 
324 


APPENDIX  325 

His  second  wife  Lucy  (Thompson)  of  Barre,  Vt., 

died  in  Oregon,  March,  1842. 
He  sustained  diese  painful  bereavements  with 
great  Christian  fortitude  and  submission. 

In  May,  1844, 
he  returned  a  second  time  to  the  United  States, 
and  in  August  impaired  health  compelled 
him  to  desist  from  his  labors  and  find  an 
asylum  among  kind  relatives  in  his  native  town 
where  he  died  in  peace 
March  12,  1845 
aged 
41  years,  3  months,  and  18  days. 
Job  XIV,  14 
"If  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again.^   All  the  days  of 
my  appointed  time  will  I  wait  till  my  change  come." 

Job  XIX,  25 
"I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  He 
shall  stand  in  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth." 

Job  XIV,  15 
"Thou  shalt  call  and  I  will  answer;  Thou  wilt 
have  a  desire  to  the  work  of  Thy  hands." 


APPENDIX  VIII 
AN  ECHO  FROM  THE  PAST 

"The  period  given  each  year  to  pioneers,  their  era  and  their 
memory,  was  brought  to  a  fitting  close  by  the  reinterment  of  the 
remains  of  Jason  Lee  in  Lee  Mission  Cemetery,  Salem.  The 
eulogies  pronounced  upon  this  occasion  tell  how  strong  a  hold  the 
early  missionary  had  upon  the  regard  of  his  contemporaries,  while 
the  recital  of  the  chief  incidents  of  his  brief  career  in  Oregon  told 
of  the  important  place  that  he  held  in  the  history  of  those  early 
times. 

"The  return  of  the  dust  of  Jason  Lee  to  Oregon  for  final  sepul- 
ture sixty-one  years  after  his  death,  the  final  interment  in  the 
cemetery  that  bears  his  name,  near  the  site  of  the  old  mission  that 
he  established  away  back  in  the  years  of  a  past  century,  was  a 
grandly  significant  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  man  who  was  a 
moving  force  in  the  early  settlement  of  Oregon.  The  sod  in  Lee 
Mission  Cemetery  has  been  broken  many  times  since,  according  to 
the  record,  *it  was  broken  to  receive  the  body  of  Maria  Pittman 
and  her  child,  wife  and  son  of  Jason  Lee*;  but  during  all  the 
intervening  years  no  form  has  been  more  tenderly  consigned  to 
the  bosom  of  our  common  mother  than  Jason  Lee's  after  all  these 
years. 

"The  eulogies  upon  this  occasion  followed  history  closely,  but 
the  glamor  of  romance  is  over  the  simple  facts  of  the  life  of  this 
early  missionary.  Far  and  far  away  are  the  echoes  from  the  en- 
deavor of  those  times.  They  tell  of  the  human  experiences  of  a 
devoted  band  of  men  and  women  in  a  beautiful  wilderness;  of 
the  vicissitudes  of  life  and  death  as  they  come  everywhere  and  to 

326 


APPENDIX  327 

all;  of  the  disappointments  that  belong  to  the  common  lot  wher- 
ever that  lot  is  cast  and  of  the  triumph  of  faith  and  hope  and  love 
over  all  obstacles."  * 

*  Editorial  by  Harvey  W.  Scott  in  Portland,  Oregon,  Oregonian  (June  16, 
1906),  XLVI,  p.  8. 


APPENDIX  IX 

LEE'S  PLACE  IN  HISTORY 

By  Harvey  W.  Scott,  Editor  of  the  Portland  Oregonian. 
From  address  delivered  at  Memorial  Service  at  reinter- 
ment of  remains  of  Jason  Lee  at  Salem,  June  15,  1906. 

"It  is  difl&cult  for  any  generation  to  estimate  rightly  its  con- 
temporary men  and  women  of  real  worth.  There  are  many  mis- 
taken estimates.  After  the  Restoration  in  England,  John  Milton 
was  overlooked  and  forgotten.  Though  the  literary  defender  of 
the  Commonwealth  and  regicides,  he  was  regarded  as  too  unim- 
portant for  notice.  His  obscurity  secured  him  immunity  from 
prosecution,  and  he  died  unnoticed.  But  so  great  is  he  now  that 
kings  and  princes  and  nobles  of  his  time  walk  about  under  his 
shadow;  the  very  age  that  neglected  him  is  now  known  as  "The 
Age  of  Milton,"  and  receives  its  luster  from  his  name.  Mind  and 
spirit  are  the  controlling  forces  of  the  world.  Men  of  preeminence 
can  be  estimated  only  by  their  peers.  Equality  of  judgment  is  too 
scantily  bestowed  in  any  living  generation  to  insure  a  correa  de- 
cision, to  settle  the  scale  of  pretension,  to  arrange  the  gradations 
of  favor,  or  the  definite  place  or  title  which  each  is  to  occupy  in 
the  ranks  of  fame.  Contemporary  men  often  pronounce  that  to  be 
greatest  which  approaches  nearest  to  themselves,  since  they  are  able 
to  look  upon  it  with  the  distinaness  of  close  proximity.  But  the 
judgment  is  with  the  future  time.  We  get  no  proper  sense  of  the 
majesty  of  our  mountain  peaks  when  near  them.  We  must  draw 
back  a  little  if  we  would  take  in  their  full  grandeur. 

"On  this  view  the  work  of  our  missionaries  in  Oregon  rises  to 
proportions  more  and  more  majestic,  as  we  study  it  from  the  view- 

328 


APPENDIX  329 

point  of  history  and  of  consequences;  and  though  others  bore  lofty 
spirits  and  did  great  work,  no  name  stands  or  will  stand  above  that 
of  Jason  Lee."  * 

*  From  History  of  the  Oregon  Country,  by  Harvey  W.  Scott,  compiled  by 
Leslie  M.  Scott,  I,  pp.  221-222. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  important  works  used  in  the  preparation  of  this  biography  will 
be  found  listed  in  the  footnote  citations  in  the  text.  When  a  work  is 
cited  more  than  once,  the  place  and  date  of  publication  are  mentioned 
in  the  first  listing.  Adequate  bibliographical  guides,  which  will  furnish 
information  concerning  the  titles  cited  in  the  footnotes,  are:  H.  H.  Ban- 
croft, History  of  the  Pacific  States,  34  vols.,  San  Francisco,  1882-1890. 
Bibliographical  information  is  listed  in  the  footnotes  and  at  the  begin- 
ning of  each  volume  dealing  with  a  separate  subject,  under  "Authorities 
Cited."  The  footnotes  in  the  History  of  Oregon,  Vol.  I,  one  of  the  best 
in  the  Bancroft  series,  furnish  a  valuable  guide  to  many  of  the  impor- 
tant primary  and  secondary  works  used  in  the  preparation  of  the  present 
biography.  The  bibliography  in  Bancroft  History  of  Oregon,  Vol.  I, 
is  listed  in  the  footnotes  and  under  "Authorities  Quoted"  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  volume.  This  bibliography  has  special  value  for  students 
of  all  phases  of  the  missionary  history  of  Oregon.  A  valuable  recent 
bibliography  on  the  Pacific  Northwest  is  in  G.  W.  Fuller,  A  History  of 
the  Pacific  Northwest,  N.  Y.,  1931,  pp.  339-384.  A  work  of  the  high- 
est value,  containing  bibliographies  at  the  end  of  each  volume,  is 
Harvey  W.  Scott,  History  of  the  Oregon  Country,  compiled  by  Leslie 
M.  Scott,  6  vols.,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  1924.  There  is  a  short 
but  well-selected  bibliography  in  W.  J.  Ghent,  The  Road  to  Oregon, 
N.  Y.,  1929.  Check  List  of  United  States  Public  Documents,  1789- 
1909.  Washington,  I9II.  Winifred  Gregory  (ed.).  Union  List  of 
Serials  in  Histories  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  New  York,  1927. 
K.  B.  Judson,  A  Brief  Descriptive  List  of  Books  (on  the  Pacific  North- 
west), Seattle  Public  Library,  I9IO.  K.  B.  Judson,  Subject  Index  to  the 
Pacific  Northwest  and  of  Alaska  as  found  in  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment Documents,  Congressional  Series,  in  the  American  State  Papers 
and  in  other  Documents,  1789-1881,  Olympia,  Washington,  1913. 
David  Parker,  Calendar  of  Papers  in  Washington  Archives  relating  to 
the  Territories  of  the  United  States  (to  1873).    Washington,  D.  C, 

331 


332    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

1911.  John  Rees,  Idaho:  Chronology,  Nomenclature,  Bibliography, 
Chicago,  191 8.  Eleanor  Ruth  Rockwood,  Books  on  the  Pacific  North- 
west for  Small  Libraries,  New  York,  1923.  Charles  W.  Smith,  Pacific 
Northwest  Americana.  A  Checklist  of  Books  and  Pamphlets  relating 
to  the  Pacific  Northwest.  New  York,  1921.  F.  J.  Turner  and  Frederick 
Merk,  List  of  References  on  the  History  of  the  West,  Cambridge,  1922. 
NEWSPAPERS:  Christian  Advocate  and  fournal.  New  York,  1826 
to  date,  is  the  best  single  source  on  Jason  Lee's  missionary  career,  and 
the  official  organ  of  American  Methodism.  The  file  for  1828-1850 
was  obtained  from  Wesleyan  University,  Middletown,  Conneaicut,  one 
of  the  few  complete  existing  files  of  this  publication.  Aside  from  the 
official  data  appearing  in  its  columns,  the  Advocate  published  an  excep- 
tionally large  body  of  basic  source  material.  Almost  every  page  contains 
extended  quotations  from  letters,  journals,  diaries,  meetings,  obituaries, 
and  similar  material  of  the  highest  historical  value.  Zion's  Herald, 
Boston,  1823  to  date.  The  oldest  and  leading  Methodist  publication 
of  New  England.  Zion's  Herald  also  printed  numerous  letters,  diaries, 
and  news  items  relating  to  the  Oregon  missionary  enterprise,  and  sup- 
plements the  Advocate  material  on  Lee's  missionary  campaign  of  1839. 
A  number  of  letters  written  by  Cyrus  Shepard,  David  Leslie,  and  other 
New  England  members  of  Lee's  mission,  not  in  the  Advocate,  appear 
in  this  publication.  It  also  furnishes  detailed  reports  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Conference  to  which  Jason  Lee  belonged.  Events  associated  with 
Wilbraham  Academy,  Lee's  school,  receive  ample  treatment.  The  Zion's 
Herald  file  was  obtained  from  the  Congregational  Library,  Boston.  The 
files  of  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Zion's  Herald  for  the  period  cover- 
ing Jason  Lee's  missionary  career  are  the  two  indispensable  contempo- 
raneous repositories  of  source  material.  Pacific  Christian  Advocate 
(weekly),  Portland,  Oregon,  1855  to  date.  The  leading  official  organ 
of  Methodism  in  the  Pacific  Northwest.  Several  of  Jason  Lee's  mission- 
ary associates  became  permanent  Oregon  settlers.  Important  biographi- 
cal data,  not  elsewhere  available,  appear  under  obituary  notices.  In 
this  form  are  found  biographical  sketches  of  David  Leslie,  Gustavus 
Hines,  Alvin  F.  Waller,  Orpha  Lankton  McKinney,  and  Almira 
Phelps  Holman.  Important  historical  details  concerning  Willamette 
University  also  receive  frequent  mention.  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  75 
vols.,  Baltimore,  1811-1849.  The  National  Intelligencer,  Washington, 
1800-1870. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  333 

MANUSCRIPTS:  The  important  manuscripts  in  the  Bancroft  Library 
Collection,  University  of  California,  are  listed  in  footnote  citations  in 
the  text.  The  Jason  Lee  Manuscript  Collection  is  in  the  Library  of  the 
Oregon  Historical  Society,  Portland,  Oregon.  A  transcript  of  this 
material  consists  of  one  hundred  and  eight  pages,  legal  size,  and  con- 
tains the  only  existing  full  report  of  Lee's  hearing  before  his  Board  in 
July,  1844;  Lee's  return  journey  home  via  Mexico  in  early  1844,  and 
the  documents  relating  to  Lee's  connection  with  the  Waller-McLoughlin 
Land  Claim  Controversy. 

GOVERNMENT  DOCUMENTS:  H.  K.  Report  No.  101,  25 
Cong.,  3  Sess.,  contains  William  A.  Slacum's  Report  on  Oregon. 
H.  R.  Report  No.  101,  25  Cong.,  3  Sess.,  contains  Jason  Lee's 
Oregon  Memorial  of  1838.  H.  R.  Report  No.  101,  25  Cong., 
3  Sess.,  Appendix  I,  prints  in  full  Jason  Lee's  letter  to  Caleb  Cush- 
ing.  Sen.  Doc.  No.  514,  26  Cong.,  1  Sess.,  contains  the  David 
Leslie  settlers'  petition  of  1839,  transmitted  to  Washington  by  Thomas 
J.  Farnham.  Sen.  Doc.  No.  174,  26  Cong.,  1  Sess.,  contains  Robert 
Greenhow's  authoritative  report  on  Oregon.  Sen.  Doc.  No.  37,  41 
Cong.,  3  Sess.,  provides  important  source  material  on  Lee's  Oregon 
Mission,  under  the  title,  "Missionary  Labors  in  Oregon."  H.  R.  Report 
No.  463,  27  Cong.,  2  Sess.,  1841-42,  furnishes  extracts  from  the  Jour- 
nal of  Captain  Josiah  Spaulding,  of  Lee's  missionary  ship,  the  Lausanne. 
Charles  Wilkes'  Report  on  the  United  States  Expedition  to  Oregon, 
1838-1842.  Vol.  IV  of  Lee  and  Blanchard's  five-volume  edition  of  the 
Wilkes'  Expedition  provides  a  useful  and  convenient  reference  to  this 
extensive  body  of  contemporaneous  material  relating  to  Jason  Lee's 
Mission  Stations.  A  reprint  of  Wilkes'  manuscript  is  in  Vols.  16  and 
17  of  the  Washington  Historical  Quarterly.  It  is  edited  by  E.  S.  Meany 
under  the  title,  Diary  of  Wilkes  in  the  Northwest. 

PERIODICALS:  American  Historical  Review,  34  vols.,  New  York, 
1895  to  date.  California  Historical  Society  Quarterly,  San  Francisco, 
1922.  North  American  Review,  228  vols.,  Boston,  1815-1877;  New 
York,  1878  to  date.  Oregon  Historical  Society  Quarterly,  32  vols., 
Portland,  1900.  Oregon  Pioneer  Association  Transactions,  1873  to 
date.  Detailed  bibliographical  information  concerning  this  important 
publication  is  in  C.  W.  Smith's  Check  List,  above  cited.  Washington 
Historical  Quarterly,  21  vols.,  Seattle,  1906.  Wilbraham  Academy 
Bulletin  for  April,  1920,  October,  1925,  and  October,  1928,  Wilbra- 


334    JASON  LEE:  PROPHET  OF  THE  NEW  OREGON 

ham,  Massachusetts.  This  is  a  publication  of  the  educational  institution 
attended  by  Jason  Lee.  The  more  important  PAMPHLET  and  MONO- 
GRAPH material  used  will  be  found  in  the  footnote  citations  in  the  text. 

The  minutes  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board  relating  to  the  Oregon 
Mission,  from  1833  to  1844,  an  invaluable  source,  is  found  under  the 
title,  a  STATEMENT  OF  FACTS,  In  relation  to  the  Oregon  Mission 
as  extracted  jrom  the  Journal  of  the  Board  for  the  Agent  of  the  Board 
to  that  mission.  This  material  is  on  file  at  the  office  of  the  Methodist 
Foreign  Mission  Board,  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City. 

LEE'S  CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  HIS  BOARD  is  at  the  office 
of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  Church  Extension  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  1701  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  This 
file  contains  twenty-six  letters  written  by  Lee  to  his  Board  between 
October,  1835,  and  Oaober,  1843.  In  this  file  are  also  the  documents 
relating  to  the  Lee-White  difficulty;  Lee's  Diary  of  a  Journey  to  The 
Dalles  in  January  and  February,  1843;  and  Lee's  Diary  from  Oaober  7 
to  15,  1843. 


INDEX 


Abernethy,  Mrs.  Anne,  163 
Abernethy,    George,    147,    162,    163, 

207,  209,  231,  235,  239,  249,  258, 

322 ;  letter  from  Lee  dated  21  March, 

1844,  232 
Abernethy,  Mrs.  George,  259 
Adams,    Thomas    (Indian    boy),    93, 

139,  155,  162;  at  Peoria,  100,  101 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  136,  137 
Alder,  Rev.  Robert,  155 
Alexandria,  Va.,  41,  111 
Allen,  A.  J.,  88,  152,  165,  200 
Allen,  Rev.  E.  D.,  138 
Alton,  111.,  97,  98 
American  Fur  Co.,  58;  caravan,  97 
Ames,  Edward  R.,  213 
Anderson,  A.  C,  171 
Anderson,  Mr.,  48 
Andover,  Mass.,  40 
Andreas,  A.  T.,  311 
Andrew,  Bishop  James  O.,  242,  243 
Apple  trees,  87 
Ashford  Mile,  20 
Aspinwall,  Rev.  N.  W.,  134 
Astoria,  163,  173,  276,  281 
Atchinson,  Fuller,  30,  180,  181 
Atkinson,  Rev.  George  H.,  317 
Atwood,   Rev.   Albert,   99,    104,    159, 

190 

Babcock,  Dr.  Ira  L.,  146,  230,  231, 
259,  268,  274 

Bagley,  Clarence  B.,  171,  172 

Bailey,  Horace  "W.,  129,  152 

Bailey,  Dr.  W.  J.,  231 

Bain,  Read,  194 

Baker,  Bishop  Osmon  C,  9,  15,  25, 
27,  30,  192;  letter  from  Lee,  1831, 
31;  letter  from  Lee,  1834,  42;  letter 
from  Mrs.  Lee  dated  11  March, 
1841,  190,  191;  letter  from  Lee  on 
the  death  of  Mrs.  Lee,  1842,  197; 


pen  picture  of  Lee's  appearance,  27; 
visit  from  Lee  in  1839,  129 

Baker's  Bay,   162,  205,  230,  255 

Baltimore,  Md.,  41;  visit  of  Lee  and 
Brooks  in  1838,  112 

Bancroft,  H.  H.,  28,  53,  152,  331, 
passim;  criticism,  52;  Parrish,  J.  L., 
and,  316 

Bangs,  Eli,  322 

Bangs,  Dr.  Nathan,  105,  106,  140, 
143,  147,   155,  159,  207 

Barbour,  John  N.,  143 

Barre,  Vt.,  130,  132,  134,  152;  mar- 
riage of  Jason  Lee  and  Lucy  Thomp- 
son, 151 

Bashford,  Rev.  James  W.,  22,  52 

Bates,  James,  233,  234 

Bear,  grizzly,  55 

Bear  River,  62 

Beaubien,  Jean  Baptiste,  311 

Beaver  skins,  87 

Beers,  Alanson,  88,  237,  254,  273,  322 

Beggs,  Sarah  R.  Frost,  159,  174 

Bennett  Street  Methodist  Church,  Bos- 
ton, 31 

Benton,  Thomas  H.,  243,  281 

Bibliography,   331-334 

Big  game,  55 

Big  Sandy  River,  57 

Bighorn  River,  97 

Birnie,  James,  163,  174,  229,  230; 
letter  to  Daniel  Lee  on  the  Indians, 
193;  welcome  to  the  Lees  in  1843, 
205 

Birth  of  first  white  child  in  Puget 
Sound  distria,  171 

Bishop,  Mr.,  296 

"Black  Robes,"  2 

Blackfeet  Indians,  36,  120 

Blake,  Thomas  Holdsworth,  243 

Blennerhasset's  Island,  42 

Blue  Mountain  range,  67-68 


335 


336 


INDEX 


Bodega,  86 

Boise,  67 

Boise  River,  67 

Bolton,  H.  E.,  238 

Bond,  Mr.,  274 

Bonneville,  Captain  B.  L.  E.,  54,  63 

Bookkeeping,  207,  209,  262,  263 

Booth,  Rev.  Robert  A.,  323 

Boston,  122;  Bromfield  Street  church 
meeting  in  1839,  Lee's  address,  121- 
126;  Lee's  missionary  ordination, 
31-32;  Lee's  visit  in  1838,  108;  mis- 
sionary meetings  in  Bromfield  Street 
Church  in  1833,  35,  37 

Boundary  controversy,  218 

Bowery  Savings  Bank,  270,  320-321 

Brewer,  Henry  B.,  147,  194,  201,  217; 
account  of  his  departure  on  the 
Lausanne,  156;  allowance,  262;  at 
The  Dalles,  168 

Bridgeport,   Conn.,   106 

Bridger,  James,  58 

British  conference,  13,   14 

Brock,  Rev.  James,  272 

Brooks,  Samuel,  132 

Brooks,  William  (Indian  boy),  93, 
103,  139;  death,  139,  140;  on  a 
blind  negro  at  Baltimore,  112;  on 
Mrs.  Jason  Lee,  116;  on  Yankee 
rum  for  the  Indians,  113-114;  re- 
marks at  Lynn,  Mass.,  121;  speech 
in  English  at  Washington,  D.  C,  in 
1838,  110,  HI;  visit,  with  Lee,  to 
Baltimore  in  1838,  112;  visit,  with 
Lee,  to  Boston  in  1838,  108;  visit, 
with  Lee,  to  Philadelphia  in  1838, 
109 

Brosnan,  C.  J.,  58 

Brown,  E.,  British  Consul,  237 

Brown,  J.  Henry,  220 

Buffalo,  2,   51,  55 

Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  139,  140 

Burlington,  Vt.,  133 

Burr,  Aaron,  42 

Butterfield,  Colonel  Frederick  D.,  323 

Caclasco,  167 

California,  284;  buying  cattle  in,  85 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  17 
Camino  Real,  238 

Camp  meetings,  203;  first  in  Oregon, 
204 


Campbell,  Hamilton,  100,  146,  216; 
baptism  of  son,  159 

Campbell,  Mrs.  Hamilton,  237 

Campbell,  Robert,  on  the  Flatheads,  6 

Canada,  donations  to  the  Oregon  Mis- 
sion, 132;  Lee  family  removal  to, 
21 

Cannon,  Miles,  67 

Canoes,  188;  Chinook,  200,  203;  jour- 
ney to  The  Dalles,  166 

Canterbury,  Conn.,   19 

Cape  Horn,  160 

Carey,  C.  H.,  196 

Carlinville,  98 

Carmichael,  Lawrence,  284,  285 

Carter,  David,  155 

Cascades,  The,  69,  167,  206 

Catlin,  George,  on  Flatheads,  5 

Cattle,  84,  85,  87,  203,  208,  232,  250. 
277,  290;  Clatsop,  175;  introduc- 
tion to  The  Dalles  area,  166;  Sla- 
cum's  account  of  the  introduction 
into  Oregon,  85 

Caw  (or  Kansas)   Indians 

Cerre,  M.  L.,  54 

Champoeg,  88,  205,  217,  287 

Chanamus   (brig),   172,  224 

Channing,  Edward,  242 

Chapman,  Charles  H.,  75 

Charlestown,  Mass.,  121 

Chehalim  Valley,  70 

Chelsea,  Vt.,  131 

Chemeketa,  29,  83,  164,  176,  187, 
188,  194,  216;  early  summer  activ- 
ities, 203;  Lee's  last  summer  at, 
205-206;  removal  of  mission  to,  in 
1841,  187 

Chemeketa  Plain,  187,  189;  first  par- 
sonage, 189 

Chicago,  102,  311;  Lee's  visit  in  1838, 
102 

Chinook  Indian  boy.  See  Brooks, 
William 

Chinook  Indians,  124;  jargon,  93; 
words,  95 

Chinook  salmon,  100,  101 

Chittenden,  H.  M.,  1,  3,  57,  passim; 
on  the  South  Pass,  55 

Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  4,  6, 
7,  9,  10,  passim 

Christianity,  first  tidings  to  Oregon 
Indians,  1 


INDEX 


337 


Church,  first  building  on  the  Pacific 

coast,  180 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  42 
Clackamas,   176,   179,  294 
Clark,  Harvey,  204 
Clark,   Chloe  Aurelia,    147,    169-170; 

marriage  to  W.  H.  Willson,  171 
Clark,  General  William,  2,  3,  4,  6,  7, 

8,  9,  11,  43 
Clarke,  S.  A.,  175 
Clatsop,    164,    192,    206,    229,    277; 

cattle,  175;  Frost  and  Kone  at,  173, 

174 
Clatsop  Indians,  174,  193 
Clickitats,   167 
Colcord,  John,  230 
Coleman,  Dr.  J.  H.,  323 
Columbia  (bark),  173,  229,  230 
Columbia  River,  36,  37,  68,  171,  287; 

Lausanne  arrives  at  mouth  of,  162; 

scenery,  69;  Slacum's  arrival  at,  284, 

286;  voyage  down,  69 
Columbia  River  Conference,  323 
Conant,  Edward,  132,  133 
Concord,  Mass.,  18 
Concord,  N.  H.,  127 
Congress,  Oregon  and,  219,  220;  Ore- 
gon   Memorial    of    1838,    220-223; 

Oregon    Mission    and,    243;    Third 

Oregon  Memorial,  1839,  227 
Connecticut  Observer,  37 
Connecticut  Valley,  17 
Continental  Divide,  55,  57 
Conversions,  125-126,  167 
Couch,  John  H.,  224 
Council  Bluffs,  5 
Coventry,  Conn.,  17 
Coventry,  Vt.,  32 
Cowlitz  River,  170 
Cows,  46 

Craftsbury,  Vt.,  133 
Cummings,  Dr.,  105 
Cushing,  Caleb,   224,  227,  277,   282; 

Lee's  letter  to,  224,  225 

Dalles,  The,  69;  branch  mission,  165; 
Columbia  River  Conference  in  1904, 
323;  Indian  revivals,  167;  Lee  and 
Whitman  conference,  214,  215; 
Lee's  visit  in  1843,  200;  log  house, 
166;  mission,  93,  194,  278 

Dana,  R.  H.  (1815-1882),  281 


Danville,  Vt.,  133 

Davenport,    Rev.    Walter    Rice,    134, 

152 
Derby  Line,  21,  323 
De  Smet,  Father,  54 
Detroit,  Lee's  visit  in  1838,  102 
Diamond  (ship),  205 
Diaries,  212;  Lee's  diary,  334 
Dibble,  Rev.  Mr.,  157 
Disosway,  G.  P.,  4,  10,  11,  142,  155 
Distillery,  284-285 
Domestic  life,  181 
Doney,  Carl  Gregg,  195 
Dorchester,  Mass.,  40 
Douglas,  James,  234,  315 
Douglass,  G.  W.,  27,  30 
Downing,    Susan    (Mrs.   Cyrus    Shep- 

ard),  39,  80,  87 
Drips,  Andrew,  58 
Dyspeptics,  61 

East  Haverhill,  N.  H.,  271 

Eastern  trip  of  Lee,  1838,  92;  Oregon 

to  the  Missouri  frontier,  93 
Edwards,   Philip   L.,   A6,   78,    84,   93, 

219;  picture  of  trapping  company, 

58,  59 
Eells,  Myra  F.,  97 
Elk,  51 

Elk  Creek,  182,  183,  186 
Elliott,  T.  C,  1,  5,  12,  89 
Elmira,  N.  Y.,  139,  140 
Elson,  H.  W.,  42 
Emigrants,  214,  216 
English  language,  81 
Essex  County,  England,  17 
Evans,  Elwood,  183 
Ewing,  F.  Y.,  93 

"Falls,"  Indian  station,  164 

Farmington,  Conn.,  17 

Farnham,  Thomas  Jefferson,  102,  227 

Fenton,  Elijah,  18 

Fenton,  Mr.,  312 

Ferrell,  Mr.,  47 

Figueroa,  Jose,  284 

Finley,  James  B.,  42 

"First  Missionary  Society  in  Oregon," 
117 

Fisk,  Wilbur,  1 1 ;  appeal  for  mission- 
ary volunteers  for  Flatheads,  11;  at 


338 


INDEX 


Lee's  missionary  ordination,  32;  at 
Wiibraham  Academy,  30 ;  brief  biog- 
raphy, 11;  in  Mrs.  Fisk's  letter  of 
Oct.,  1839,  13;  Lee  and  the  mission 
to  the  Flatheads,  31;  letter  from  Lee 
written  May  2,  1834,  48;  letter 
from  Lee  dated  June  29,  1834,  59; 
letter  from  Lee  dated  Feb.  6,  1835, 
picturing  the  Oregon  country,  73; 
letter  from  Lee  dated  15  March, 
1836,  describing  dark  period  of  the 
mission,  78 ;  on  Captain  Wyeth,  39 ; 
plan  for  an  enlarged  program  of 
mission  stations  in  Oregon,  115; 
presence  at  meeting  held  by  Lee  in 
Middletown  in  1839,   114 

Fisk,  Mrs.  Wilbur,  letter  of  Oct., 
1839,  detailing  origin  of  Flathead 
mission,  13 

Fitzpatrick,  Thomas,  58 

Flathead  Indians,  1,  122,  124;  Fisk's 
appeal  for  missionaries  to,  11;  Lee's 
ordination  as  missionary  to,  in  1833, 
31;  visit  to  St.  Louis  in  1831,  2,  3; 
visit  to  St.  Louis,  publicity,  9 

Flathead  mission,  10;  appropriation 
for  October,  1833,  33;  establishment 
voted  in  1833,  12;  lay  assistants, 
46 ;  questions,  and  answers  by  N.  F. 
Wyeth,  in  1833,  35-36 

Floyd,  Dr.  John,  281 

Fontenelle,  Lucien,  54,  58 

Food  of  missionaries  during  the  first 
winter  in  Oregon,  75 

Forrest,  Charles,  170 

Forsydi,  John,  284 

Forsyth  Street  Church,  New  York 
City,  34 

Fort  Boise,  67 

Fort  Dearborn,  311 

Fort  George,  163,  174,  205,  229 

Fort  Hall,  63,  97,  160;  first  Prot- 
estant religious  service,  64;  leaving 
for  Fort  Walla  Walla,  66 

Fort  Laramie,  53,  63 

Fort  Nisqually,  169,  172 

Fort  Pierre,  6 

Fort  Tecumseh,  6 

Fort  Umpqua,  183 

Fort  Union,  6 

Fort  Vancouver,  1,  68,  69,  70,  286; 
Lausanne  at,  163 


Fort  Walla  Walla,  47,  68,  93 

Fort  William,  284 

Foxborough,  Mass.,  118 

Fremont,  J.  C,  56 

French,  Mrs.  Smith,  323 

French  Prairie,  70 

Frost,  Rev.  Joseph  H.,  146,  192,  193, 
258;  at  Clatsop,  173,  174;  journey 
for  cattle  from  Clatsop  to  Willa- 
mette station,  175;  Ten  Years  in 
Oregon  (with  Daniel  Lee),  175, 
176.  See  also  Lee,  Daniel,  and  J.  H. 
Frost 

Fry,  Farnham  &  Co.,  316 

Fuller,  G.  W.,  331 

Funeral  service,  first  Protestant,  in 
Rocky  Mountain  region,  65-66 

Fur  companies,  58 

Fur  trade,  51;  rendezvous,  58 

Fur  traders,  1,  2 

Gagnier,  J.  B.,  183,  186 

Gagnier,  Mrs.  J.  B.,   184,   185 

Gallagher  (John  B.)  farm,  21-22 

Gambling,  120 

Gary,  Rev.  George,  83,  188,  189,  195, 
245,  265,  273;  appointed  to  super- 
sede Lee,  230,  268 

Gaston,  Joseph,  224 

Gatke,  Robert  M.,  195 

General  Conference,  243 

General  Land  Office,  243,  245 

Geneva,  N.  Y.,  139,  140 

Giddings,  Miss  L.  L.  (Mrs.  H.  B. 
Brewer),  156 

Gifts,  Indians  and,  202 

Gill,  Mrs.  J.  K.,  171 

Goode,  Patrick  Gaines,  110 

Government,  first  organized  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  217 

Government  documents,  333 

Grand  Island,  50 

Grande  Ronde,  67 

Gray,  W.  H.,  195,  233;  description  of 
Lee,  29 

Great  Britain,  boundary  question,  218 

Great  Emigration  of  1843,  214,  216 

Green  River,   2,  56,  57 

Greene,  Rev.  David,  215 

Grist  mill,  187,  188 

Grizzly  bear,  55 

Grover,  La  Fayette,  218 


INDEX 


339 


Grubbs,  F.  H.,  21,  22,  27,  87,   130, 

152,  154,  323 
Guadalajara,   238,   239 

Hall,  Frances,  270 

Hamilton  (ship),  87,  88 

Hams  Fork,  57 

Hardships,  190 

Harmon,  Mr.,  of  Coventry,  Vt.,  32 

Hart,  A.  B.,  243 

Hartford,  Conn.,  Lee's  missionary 
meeting  in,    1839,   116 

Hascall,  Rev.  Jefferson,  126 

Hastings,  Mr.,  297 

Hathaway,  Felix,  179,  293-294 

Haverhill,  N.  H.,  129 

Hawaii,  161 

Hedding,  Bishop  Elijah,  32,  34,  144, 
145 

Hedding,  Lucy,  76 

Hercules    (tug),   159 

Hick,  Rev.  John,  15,  24 

Hines,  Rev.  Gustavus,  25,  72,  146, 
182,  183,  194,  216,  230,  231,  233, 
234,  235,  274,  321,  322,  passim; 
camp  meeting,  204;  in  Lee's  state- 
ment, 250,  251,  252,  256,  257,  259, 
260,  261;  letter  from  Lee  dated  7 
April,  1844,  237,  238;  letter  from 
Lee  dated  24  April,  1844,  239,  241; 
letter  from  Lee  dated  1  July,  1844, 
on  the  General  Conference  and  on 
his  Washington  visit,  243,  245; 
letter  from  Lee  dated  8  Feb.,  1845, 
273 

Hines,  H.  K.,  23,  24,  passim;  brief 
biography,  25;  on  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Lee,  1842,  196 

Hines,  Mrs.  Julia,  229 

Hoa  Tita  (ship),  231,  232,  234,  235 

Holdick,  Joseph,  39;  on  Fisk's  last 
public  appearance,  114 

Holman,  F.  V.,  2,  229,  314 

Holman,  Joseph,  100,  101,  102 

Honolulu,  88,  90,   161,  230 

Hooker,  Thomas,  17 

Hooper,  William,  231 

Horn,  Cape,  160 

Horner,  John  B.,  89,  165 

Horny  Fork  (Hams  Fork),  57 

Horse  races,  65-66 

Horses,  232,  250 


Horse  thieves,   284 
Howell,  Thomas  C,  243 
Hubbard,  B.  F.,  22,  23,  24,  133 
Hudson's  Bay  Co.,  1,  37,  63,  67,  163, 
177,  178,  183,  227,  299,  302,  307, 
308,  310,  311,  313,  314,  315;  busi- 
ness method,  251;  cattle,   84;  Fort 
Nisqually,    169;    fur    brigade,    97; 
policy,   281.    See  also  McLoughlin, 
Dr.  John 
Hudspeath,  J.  M.,  296,  297 
Humphries,  Captain,  173,  229 
Hyde,  A.  B.,  242 

Idaho,  2,  67 

Illinois,  99 

Illinois  Conference,  98 

Illinois  Patriot,  on  the  Flatheads,  7,  8 

Independence,  Mo.,  35,  43,  44,  47; 
Lee's  arrival  at,  45 

Independence  Rock,  53;  names  in- 
scribed on,  54 

Indian  Affairs,  Office  of,  292 

Indian  boys,  40,  41,  93,  139,  157; 
enrollment  at  Wilbraham  Academy, 
107;  in  Boston,  35,  37;  singing,  98 

Indian  children,  73 ;  manual  instruc- 
tion, 81 ;  orphans,  76 

Indian  country,  47 

Indian  language,  95 

Indian  Manual  Labor  School,  83,  188, 
189,  195,  228 

Indian  Mission  School,  75;  desaip- 
tion  in  1837,  81;  instruaion,  77 

Indian  Tom.    See  Adams,  Thomas 

Indian  women,  89 

Indians,  1,  49,  59,  61,  62;  behavior 
at  religious  service,  65;  converting, 
125-126;  diseases,  character,  lan- 
guages, 257;  given  English  names, 
82;  Lee's  opinion  of,  94;  imrest  in 
1843,  200 

lotuay  (steamer),  43 

Irving,  Washington,   1,  54,  63,  281 

Island  Ford,  66 

Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  139,  140 

Jackson,  Andrew,  281 

Jacksonville,     111.,     99;     Presbyterian 

Synod  in  1833,  7 
Jacksonville,  Illinois  Patriot,  7,  8 
Jargon,  82,  257 


340 


INDEX 


Jesuits,  2 

Johannson,  Rev.  A.  E.,  152 
Johnson,  C.  T.,  5 
Johnson,  Elvira,  88 
Johnson,  Rev.  Thomas,  97 
Judson,  Lewis  H.,  146 

Kamehameha  III,  l6l,  277 

Kansas,  45,  48 

Kansas  City,  Mo.,  45 

Kansas  River,  48 

Kanseau  (half-breed),  66 

Kapsualla,  95 

Keener,  John  C,  27 

Kelley,  Hall  J.,  74,  122,  284 

Kelly,  Rev.  S.,  133 

Kioose  Indians,  95 

Kittle  Falls,  36 

Kittson,  William,  170,  171 

Kone,  Rev.  William  W.,  146,  155, 
175,  182,  192,  208,  228,  249,  255; 
at  Clatsop;  withdrawal,  173;  preju- 
dicial report  on  the  Oregon  situ- 
ation, 174 

Kootenai  Indians,  1 

Laborers,  256 

Ladd  &  Co.,  233,  234 

Lagos,  239 

Lane,  George,  270,  322;  letter  from 
Lee  in  1845,  272 

Lang,  H.  O.,  183 

Lankton,  Orpha,   147 

Lapwai  Mission,  94,  135 

Laramie  River,  53 

Lausanne  (ship),  88,  99,  100;  char- 
tered for  Columbia  River  in  1839, 
142 ;  Fort  Vancouver,  163 ;  mission- 
ary character  of  the  expedition,  147; 
price  of  passage,  318;  voyage  from 
New  York,  1839,  155 

Lausanne  Secret  Service  Fund,  Lee  and, 
316 

Lava  plains,  67 

Laymen,  248 

Lee,  Anna  Maria,  letter  to  G.  W. 
Pittman  dated  26  Oct.,  1837,  86 

Lee,  Daniel  (C,  1753;  father  of 
Jason),  17;  brothers  and  sisters, 
names,  18;  death  (1806),  22;  mili- 
tary service,  18,  19;  marriage  to 
Sarah   Whittaker,    19;    removal   to 


near  Stanstead,  Quebec,  21;  removal 
to  Vermont,  20;  residence  in  Pitts- 
ford,    Vt.,    and   removal,    21;    resi- 
dence in  Willington,  Conn.,  20 
Lee,    Daniel    (C,    1790;    brother    of 

Jason),  320 
Lee,  Daniel  (1806-1895;  nephew  of 
Jason),  10,  22,  23,  193,  194,  201; 
appointment  as  associate  to  his  uncle 
in  1834,  33;  at  The  Dalles,  93, 
165;  departure  from  Oregon  in 
1843,  205;  description  of  Jason's 
conversion,  25;  made  an  elder,  41; 
lay  assistants  from  Richmond,  Mo., 
46;  letter  from  Jason  Lee  dated  25 
April,  1838,  on  the  Indians,  94; 
letter  from  Jason  Lee  on  the  death 
of  Mrs.  Jason  Lee,  199;  letter  from 
Jason  Lee  dated  19  Oct.,  1844,  271 ; 
obituary  notice  of  Jason,  23;  on  the 
Flatheads'  visit  to  St.  Louis,  8,  9; 
Platte  River,  50 ;  Ten  Years  in  Ore- 
gon (with  J.  H.  Frost),  175,  176; 
tribute  to  Jason  Lee,  275;  visit  to 
Jason  Lee  in  1845,  272 
Lee,  Daniel,  and  J.  H.  Frost,  9,  176, 

passim 
Lee,  David  (C,  1674),  17 
Lee,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ede,  320 
Lee,  Elias   (C,  1723),   17,  18 
Lee,  Elias  (brother  of  Jason),  22 
Lee,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Pool),  320 
Lee,  Jason,  10;  acceptance  of  the  Flat- 
head mission,  14;  address  at  Brom- 
field     Street     Church,     Boston,     in 
1839,  121-126;  ancestry,   17;  birth, 
Jan.  28,  1803,  22;  Boston  meeting 
in    1833,    37;   brothers  and   sisters, 
names,     22;     camp    meeting,     204; 
Canadian  visit  in  1839,  132;  conver- 
sion,   24;    correspondence  with   his 
board,  334;  death  and  burial,  274, 
275;  diaries,  334;  diary  quoted  on 
his  conversion,  26;  diary,  reference 
to  early  years,  23;  eastern  trip  of 
1838,  92;  eastern  trip  of  1843-1844, 
228,  229;  education  and  early  youth, 
23;  equipment  on  the  journey  west 
in  the  Indian  country,  47;  exonera- 
tion by  Mission  Board,  268;  forti- 
tude,   197;   grave,    321;   gravestone 
inscription,     323-324;     journey    to 


INDEX 


341 


The  Dalles  in  1843,  200;  last  ser- 
mon, 272;  Lausanne  Secret  Service 
Fund,  316;  letter  from  Mrs.  Fisk, 
13;  letter  to  Abernethy  dated  21 
March,  1844,  232;  letter  to  O.  C. 
Baker  dated  8  April,  1842,  on  the 
death  of  Mrs.  Lee,  197;  letter  to 
Gushing  dated  17  Jan.,  1839,  224, 
225;    letter    to    Fisk    of   April    18, 

1833,  15;    letter    to    Fisk   May    2, 

1834,  48;  letter  to  Fisk  written 
June  29,  1834,  59;  letter  to  Fisk 
picturing  the  Oregon  country,  Feb. 
6,  1835,  73;  letter  to  Fisk  dated  15 
March,  1836,  describing  dark  period 
of  the  mission,  78;  letter  to  Hines 
dated  7  April,  1844,  237,  238; 
letter    to    Hines    dated    24    April, 

1844,  239,  241;  letter  to  Hines 
dated  1  July,  1844,  on  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  and  on  his  Wash- 
ington visit,  243,  245;  letter  to 
Hines  dated  8  Feb.,  1845,  273; 
letter  to  George  Lane  dated  5  March, 

1845,  272;  letter  to  Daniel  Lee 
dated  25  April,  1838,  on  the  In- 
dians, 94 ;  letter  to  Daniel  Lee  dated 
13  April,  1842,  on  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Jason  Lee,  199;  letter  to  Daniel  Lee 
dated  19  Oct.,  1844,  271;  letter  to 
Leslie  dated  21  Nov.,  1838,  106; 
letter  to  Leslie  15  Feb.,  1841, 
on  Mrs.  Leslie's  death,  191;  letter 
to  the  Mission  Board  dated  13  Oct., 
1843,  disclosing  serious  problems, 
206;  letter  to  Mission  Board  dated 
23  July,  1844,  269,  270;  letter  to 
Waller  dated  23  March,  1844,  234; 
letters  home  written  on  his  journey 
west,  59;  marriage  to  Anna  Maria 
Pittman,  89;  marriage  to  Lucy 
Thompson,  151;  medicine  bag,  185; 
ministerial  associates,  146;  ministry, 
decision  in  December,  1831,  31; 
misrepresentation,  228;  missionary 
ambitions  after  conversion  in  1826, 
31;  missionary  labors,  277;  mission- 
ary to  the  Flatheads  in  1833,  12, 
31;  mother,  19,  20;  nephew  Daniel 
selected  as  assistant,  33;  New  Eng- 
land campaign  in  1839,  113;  New 
England  campaign,   summary,    127; 


new  intellectual  birth,  52;  New 
York  State  tour  in  1839,  summary, 
140;  opinion  of  the  Indian,  94; 
Oregon  boundary  dispute  and,  281; 
Oregon  journey  in  1834,  39,  41; 
Oregon  journey  in  1839,  142;  per- 
sonal appearance,  27,  28,  29;  politi- 
cal service,  217,  218;  presentation 
of  claims  of  Oregon  Mission  on 
eastern  trip,  1838-1839,  104;  re- 
moval, in  1904-1906,  of  body  from 
Stanstead  to  Salem,  Ore.,  323,  326, 
328;  report  of  journey's  end,  68; 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  43 ;  Settlers'  Petition, 
219;  statement  to  Mission  Board, 
July  1,  1844,  246-268;  student  at 
Wilbraham  Academy,  30;  summer 
tour  in  1841,  192;  superseded  by 
Gary,  230;  teacher  in  Stanstead 
Academy,  30;  temperance,  service  to, 
284;  ttxt,  favorite,  160;  'Townsend's 
reference  to,  65;  Umpqua  project 
and  tour,  182-186;  visit  to  Balti- 
more in  1838,  112;  visit  to  class- 
mate Osmon  C.  Baker  in  1839,  129; 
visit  to  Washington,  D.  C,  in  1838, 
109,  110;  visit  to  Wilbraham 
Academy  in  1838,  107,  108;  Waller- 
McLoughlin  Land  Claim  Contro- 
versy, bibliographical  note,  291-292; 
Whitman  and,  206,  213,  214;  will 
made  in  1844,  231,  232;  will  (sec- 
ond) made  in  1845,  274,  319; 
Willamette  Mission,  72 

Lee,  Mrs.  Jason.  See  Pittman,  Anna 
Maria;  Thompson,  Lucy 

Lee,  Jedediah  (C,  1696),  17 

Lee,  Jedediah  (brother  of  Daniel), 
18,  21 

Lee,  John,  of  Essex  Co.,  Eng.,  17 

Lee,  John  (C,  1659),  of  Farmington, 
Conn.,  17 

Lee,  Rev.  John  Parker,  27 

Lee,   Kezia    (1716-1807),    18 

Lee,  Leonard,  17 

Lee,  Lucy  Anna  Maria,  229,  231, 
241,  245,  321;  guardians,  231, 
321 

Lee,  Mary  (Mrs.  Archibald  Morrill), 
22,  271 

Lee,  Sarah   (Whittaker),  20 

Lee,  Sarah  Fiske,  17 


342 


INDEX 


Lee,  Sarah  Royce,  18 

Lee  family,  17 

Lee-Fisk  correspondence,  13,  14,  78 

Lersner,  Victor  A.,  270 

Leslie,  Rev.  David,  90,  169,  206 
career  in  Oregon,  91;  letter  from 
Lee  dated  21  Nov.,  1838,  106: 
letter  from  Lee  dated  15  Feb.,  1841 
on  the  death  of  Mrs.  Leslie,  191 
192;  petition  to  Congress,  1839 
227 

Leslie,  Mrs.  David,  death,  190,  191 

Lewis  and  Dryden,  224 

Lewiston,  Ida.,  94 

Lexington,  Mass.,  18 

Liberty,  Mo.,  39,  44,  45 

Liguest,  Pierre  Laclede,  44 

Lindsey,  Rev.  John.,  38,  40 

Linn,  E.  A.,  219 

Linn,   Lewis  F.,   219,   227,  235,   281, 
301,  307,  317 

Liquor,  83,  113-114,  284;  Indians  and, 
119-120 

Livestock  and  dairying  industry,  85 

Log  house,  at  The  Dalles,  166 

London  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society, 
31 

Lorwt  (brig),  84,  85,  86,  285,  286 

Louisville,  Ky.,  43 

Lowell,  Mass.,  40,  126 

Luckey,  Samuel,   256 

Lyndon,  Vt.,  132 

Lynn,  Mass.,  39,  80,  128;  Lee's  visit 
in  1839,  118 

Lyons,  France,  3 

McAllister,  Rev.  Alexander,  6 
McClane,  John  Burch,  215,  216 
McKay,  Alexander,  97,  103,  107,  157 
McKay,  John  T.,  97,  103,  107,  157 
McKay,  Thomas,  62,  64,   307;  farm, 
70;  his  three  sons  placed  in  Lee's 
care,  97;  Indian  trade  of  the  Boise 
region,  67 
McKay,  William  Cameron,  97,  103 
McKenney,  Colonel,  105 
McLoughlin,  A.  C,  243 
McLoughlin,  Dr.  John,  1,  32,  70,  75, 
84,  89,  95,  162,  163,  169,  172,  179, 
258,  284,  290;  land  claim  and  con- 
test with  A.  F.  Waller,  180;  Land 
Claim  Controversy,  documents,  291- 


315;  Lee's  statement,  252;  meeting 
with  Lee  at  Fort  Vancouver,  69;  on 
the  Willamette  Mission,  71 

McLoughlin,  Mrs.,  107 

Maaavish,  Mr.,  296 

Malaria,  190,  194 

Manual  instruction,  81 

Manuscripts,  333 

Marriages  in  Oregon,  89 

Marshall,  W.  J.,  2,  3,  6,  317 

Maryland  (brig),  224 

Massachusetts,  Lee's  visit  to,  in  1839, 
118 

Maui,  island  of,  160,  230 

May  Dacre  (ship),  35,  70 

Meany,  Edmond  S.,  284,  317 

Meek,  Joseph,  204 

Meek,  Stephen  [H.  L.},  294,  295, 
300 

Meeker,  Ezra,  171,  172 

Methodism,  211;  first  centennial,  194 

Methodist  church,  division  by  the  An- 
drew case,  242;  first  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  180.    See  also  Mission  Board 

Methodist  Foreign  Mission  Board,  334 

Methodist  Missionary   Society,    10 

Methodist  preachers,  53 

Methodists,  2;  advocacy  of  a  Flathead 
mission,  10 

Mexico,  Lee  in,  237,  238;  Lee  sails 
for,  231;  stagecoaches,  238,  240, 
242 

Mexico  City,  233,  237,  239,  242 

Middletown,  Conn.,  13,  14,  106,  128; 
farewell  meeting  for  the  mission- 
aries in  1833,  33-34;  Juvenile  Mis- 
sionary Society,  33;  meeting  held  by 
Lee  and  Brooks  in  1839,  113-114 

Mill  Creek,  187,  188 

Mills,  187,  203,  254,  268,  312,  313 

Mission  Board,  appropriation  in  1838 
for  the  Oregon  Mission,  104;  char- 
tering of  the  Lausanne,  142;  exon- 
eration of  Lee,  268;  Lee's  letter  to, 
Oa.  13,  1843,  disclosing  serious 
problems,  206;  Lee's  report  of  jour- 
ney's end,  68;  Lee's  statement  to, 
July  1,  1844,  246-268;  letter  from 
Lee  dated  23  July,  1844,  269,  270; 
list  of  members,  246,  255,  264;  mis- 
representations to,  228 

Missionaries,    207,    208,    210;   allow- 


INDEX 


343 


ance,  262;  announcement  of  rein- 
forcements by  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 143;  assembling  for  Oregon 
in  1839;  character,  248;  selection 
(1839)  and  overruling  of  Lee,  146; 
Lausanne  group,  with  list  of  names, 
155,   156 

Missionary-colonists,  99 

Missionary  enthusiasm,  12 

Missionary  Society,  143,  216 

Missions,  Christian,  first  to  Oregon  In- 
dians, 1 ;  Fisk's  appeal  in  behalf  of 
the  Flatheads,  11 

Missouri,  4,  44,  97 

Missouri  Republican,  158 

Missouri  River,  5,  98 

Montana,  2,  6 

Montpelier,'  Vt.,  132,  133,  134;  Dis- 
trict, Preachers'  Meeting,  131 

Montreal,  1 

Moore,  Robert,  claim  on  the  Willa- 
mette, 177 

Morison,  S.  E.,  122 

Morrill,  Archibald,  271,  321,  322 

Morrill,  Mrs.  Archibald  (Mary  Lee), 
22 

Morrill,  Colonel  B.  B.,  22 

Morrill,  Joseph,  322 

Morrill,  Mrs.  Judith   (Lee),  320 

Morrill,  Mary  Lee,  22,  271 

Morris,  Calvary,  110 

Morristown,  N.  J.,  113 

Moss,  Sidney  W.,  88;  description  of 
Lee,  29 

Mountaineering,  166 

Mowry,  W.  A.,  8,  215 

Mudge,  Z.  A.,  38,  42,  67,  76,  81 

Multonomah,   70,   287 

Munroe,  Rev.  A.,  44 

Napiersa  Indians,  5 

Narcisse  (Indian),  2 

Nebraska,  50 

Negro,  blind,  112 

New  England,  Lee's  campaign  in  1839, 

113;  Lee's  summary  report  of  his 

campaign  in  1839,  127 
New  England  Conference,  270 
New  Hampshire  Conference,  33,  129, 

132,  133,  269,  271 
New  Hampshire  Grants,  20 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  Lee  and  Brooks 


at,  in  1839,  114;  missionary  meet- 
ing in  1833,  34 

New  Orleans,  242 

New  York  City,  arrival  of  missionaries 
in  September,  1839,  for  the  Lau- 
sanne, 151;  Greene  Street  Methodist 
church  meeting  of  farewell  to  Lau- 
sanne party,  155;  Lee's  arrival  in 
October,  1838,  103;  Lee's  meeting 
in  1838,  105;  Lee's  return  to,  in 
March,  1839,  136;  Lee's  visit  in 
1844,  242;  Mission  Board,  1833, 
33;  Mission  Board,  1844,  24;  mis- 
sionary meetings  in  the  area  in  1833, 
33 

New  York  Journal  of  Commerce,  157 

New  York  State,  Lee's  missionary  tour 
in  1839,  136 

Newburgh,  N.  Y.,  105 

Newbury,  Vt.,   129,  130,  152 

Newburyport,  Mass.,  126,  172;  Gush- 
ing and,  224 

Newell,  Dr.  Robert,  204 

Newspapers,  332 

Newton  Upper  Falls,  Mass.,    121 

Newtown   (Cambridge),  Mass.,  17 

Nez  Perce  Indians,  2,  95;  Spalding 
mission  to,  94 

Nisqually,  164,  277;  mission,  99, 
169 

North  Salem,  Ore.,  190 

Norwich,  Conn.,  128;  Lee's  meetings 
in  1839,  116,  117 

Notus,  Ida.,  67 

Oahu,  173,  230,  233,  234,  235,  237, 
310 

Oakley,  Rev.  P.  C,  136 

Ogden,  Peter  Skene,  89 

Ogden,  Sarah  Julia,  89 

Ohio  River,  42 

Old  Fort  Boise,  67 

Oliphant,  J.  Orin,  177 

Olley,  James,  146,  248,  255 

Oregon,  1 ;  appeal  to  Boston,  122 ;  cat- 
tle, 84,  85;  commercial  value,  220, 
221;  federal  interest  in,  284;  fed- 
eral inspection  of  conditions,  286; 
first  great  teacher,  76 ;  Great  Britain 
and,  218;  growing  interest  in  1837, 
92;  "Hail  Oregon,"  56;  journey 
of  the  Lees  in  1833-1834,  32,  41; 


344 


INDEX 


Lee  again  en  route  to,  in  1839,  142; 
Lee's  contribution  to  the  settlement 
of  the  boundary,  281;  Lee's  place 
in  her  history,  276;  livestock  and 
dairying  industry,  85;  provisional 
government  organized,  217;  third 
memorial  to  Congress,  1839,  227 

Oregon,   State  University  of,  195 

Oregon  City,  164,  176,  181,  203,  216, 
276,  277,  291,  313 

Oregon  Indians,  1 

Oregon  Institute,  83,  182,  189,  194, 
195,  229,  271,  320 

Oregon  Memorial  of  1838,  219,  220- 
223 

Oregon  Mission,  12;  clothing  and 
goods  for  assembling  in  1839,  149; 
expansion  program,  1840,  164;  ex- 
penditure, 263,  264;  Fisk's  plan  for 
an  enlarged  program,  115;  Lee's 
letter  to  Cushing  with  statistics, 
224,  225;  Lee's  presentation  of  its 
claims  on  his  Eastern  trip  in  1838- 
1839,  104;  Lee's  presentation  of  its 
claims  to  the  U.  S.  government, 
243;  missionary  meetings  to  raise 
funds  for,  in  1838-1839,  104;  New 
York  prejudice,  244;  origin  de- 
scribed in  letter  of  Mrs.  Fisk,  1839, 
13 

Oregon  Mission  Records,  214,  217 

Oregon  Missionary  Society,  136,  138, 
140 

Oregon  Temperance  Society,  83,  285 

Oregon  Trail,  45,  51,  63,  94,  206, 
276;  Lee's  tale  of  his  journey  over, 
123 

Oregonian  and  Indian's  Advocate,  118 

Orphans,  Indian,  76 

Osage  Indians,  48 

Pacific  Christian  Advocate,  332 
Pacific  Coast,  ultimate  good,  92 
Pacific  Northwest,  227,  276,  281 
Vallas  (brig),  206,  213,  216 
Palmer,  Joel,  56;  on  South  Pass,  56 
Pambrun,  P.  C,  68 

Parker,  Captain  Jonathan,  of  Willing- 
ton,  18,  19 
Parker,  Rev.  Samuel,  4,  43,  281 
Parrish,  Rev.  Josiah  L.,  146,  188,  206, 
229,  258;  statement  about  Lee  and 


the  Lausanne  Secret  Service  Fund, 
316 

Parsonage,  first  Protestant,  189 

Patten,   Mr.,   48 

Paul  (Indian),  3 

Peck,  Dr.  George,  246 

Pegg,  Rev.  J.,  138 

Pendleton,  Ore.,  97 

Penn  Yan,  N.  Y.,  139 

Peoria,  99,  282;  emigrants  to  Oregon, 
100,  101;  Lee's  lecture  in  1829,  100 

Periodicals,  333 

Perkins,  Rev.  H.  K.  W.,  88,  90,  193, 
194,  201,  258;  assault  on,  217; 
camp  meeting,  204;  The  Dalles  mis- 
sion, 93,  165,  166;  on  the  Indian 
Mission  School  in  1837,   81 

Peru  (brig),  90 

Pettygrove,  F.  W.,  203 

Peu-Peu-Mox-Mox,  200;  Lee's  con- 
ference with,  202 

Phelps,  Almira,  147,  156 

Philadelphia,  41;  death  of  William 
Brooks,  139,  140;  Lee's  visit  in 
1838,  109 

Phillips,  Elmira,  147,  156 

Phillips,  W.  S.,  95 

Pierce,  Rev.  T.  C,  152    . 

Pioneer  settlers,  228 

Pitman,  Dr.  Charles,  246 

Pittman,  Anna  Maria  (Mrs.  Jason 
Lee),  88,  197,  261,  324,  326; 
Brooks  on,  116;  death,  90;  marriage 
to  Jason  Lee,  89 

Pittman,  G.  W.,  letter  from  Anna 
Maria  Lee  dated  26  Oct.,  1837,  86 

Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  41,  242 

Pittsford,  Vt.,  20,  21 

Platte  River,  50 

Po  Po  Agie  River,  97 

Pocatello,  Ida.,  63 

Polk  County,  187 

Pomeroy,  Walter,  297 

Pool,  Theodore,  320 

Pope,  Rev.  Richard,  24,  25 

Portland,  Me.,  126 

Portland,  Ore.,  176,  224,  323 

Pormeuf  River,  62,  63 

Portsmouth,  N.  H.,   127,  269 

Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  136,  140 

Prairies,  52 

Profanity,  49,  60 


\ 


INDEX 


345 


Prophet  of  the  New  Oregon,  277 
Protestant  religious  service,  first  west 

of  the  Rockies,  64 
Puget  Sound,  277;  district,  169 

Quaife,  M.  M.,  311 
Quebec  Province,  21 

Raymond,  William  W.,  147,  216 

Reed  River,  67 

Religious  service,  first  Protestant,  at 
Fort  Hall,  64 

Revival  in  the  region  of  The  Dalles, 
1840,  167;  in  Stanstead  in  1821  and 
1826,  24 

Revolutionary  War,  18 

Richards,  Rev.  Mr.,  161 

Richardson,  A.  T.,  3,  54 

Richardson,  C.  A.,  322 

Richmond,  Mo.,  46 

Richmond,  Francis,  99;  first  white 
child  born  in  Puget  Sound  district, 
171 

Richmond,  Rev.  John  P.,  99,  146,  171, 
228,  264;  baptism  of  son,  159;  Nis- 
qually  Branch  Mission,  169;  sailing 
for  the  East  with  family,  172;  voy- 
age on  the  Cowlitz  River,  170 

Richman,  Mr.,  47 

Ricord,  John,  229,  235,  297,  298,  299, 
300,  301,  303,  304,  305,  306,  308 

Rigdon,  W.  T.,  190 

Rio  de  Janeiro,   160 

Rock  Island,  Canada,  21 

Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Co.,  58,  63 

Rocky  Mountains,  55,  57,  61;  sum- 
mit, 56 

Rosati,  Rev.  Joseph,  3 

Roux,  Father  Benedia,  3 

Russell,  Osborne,  58 

Rutland,  Vt.,  20,  21 

Sage,  Colonel  Comfort,   18,   19 

Sagebrush,   66 

St.  Clair,  Lake,  15 

St.  Louis,  Mo.,  39 ;  Catholic  Cathedral, 
Indian  burials,  2;  character,  43;  de- 
parture from,  in  April,  1834,  47; 
down  the  Ohio  to,  43;  Flathead  In- 
dian visit  to,  in  1831,  2,  3;  Method- 
ist Church,  1838,  98;  missionary 
meeting,  44 


Salem,  Ore.,  70,  164,  195,  203,  216, 
276;  Lee  Mission  Cemetery,  323, 
326;  Lee's  gravestone,  22;  Oregon 
Institute,  194,  195 

Salmon,  176,  179,  224 

San  Bias,  237,  238 

San  Francisco,  Cal.,  85,  86 

San  Jose,  Cal.,  85 

Sandwich  Islands,  78,  91,  145,  155, 
161 

Sargent,  N.,  219 

Saulinier,  Father  Edmond,  3 

Sauvie's  Island,  192 

Sawmill,  143,  164,  187,  188,  292 

Say  lor,  Fred  H.,  100 

Schafer,  Joseph,  310 

Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  136,  139,  140 

Scott,  Rev.  E.  J.,  151 

Scott,  Harvey  W.,  46,  100,  331;  edi- 
torial in  Portland  Oregonian,  June 
16,  1906,  326-327;  on  Lee's  place 
in  history  (from  an  address),  328- 
329;  tribute  to  the  two  wives  of 
Jason  Lee,  196,  197 

Scott,  Leslie  M.,  183,  329,  331 

Secret  Service,  317 

Secret  Service  Fund,  316 

Schon,  Rev.  E.  W.,  letter  on  the  Flat- 
heads,  6 

Sewall,  Thomas,  Jr.,  27,  110 

Shawnee  Mission,  97 

Shepard,  Cyrus,  38,  39,  42,  43,  82, 
125;  engaged  as  teacher,  38;  illness 
and  death,  82;  marriage,  80;  on  the 
Fort  Hall  religious  service,  64;  on 
orphan  Indian  children,  76;  on  the 
Willamette  Valley  Mission,  70-71; 
school,  75;  teaching  English,  81 

Sherman,  David,  26 

Shortess  petition,  218 

Simpson,  Sir  George,  169,  308,  309, 
310,  311,  312,  313,  314;  visit  to 
The  Dalles,  168 

Simpson,  Matthew,  11,  26 

Skipworth,  Rev.  Walton,  323 

Slacum,  William  A.,  81,  84,  109,  282; 
account  of  introducing  cattle  into 
Oregon,  85 ;  account  of  visit  to  Lee's 
mission,  287-290;  memorial  in  be- 
half of  Oregon,  218,  220;  tribute  to 
Lee's  service  for  temperance,  284; 
visit  of  January,  1837,  92 


346 


INDEX 


Slavery,  Indian  tribes,  120 

Slavery  question,  242 

Smallpox,  160 

Smith,  Rev.  A.  B.,  173 

Smith,  Amadee  M.,  323 

Smith,  Jedediah  S.,  1 

Smith,  Margaret  J.,  82,  90 

Smith,  Solomon  H.,  174,  175,  192 

"Snake  Country,"  62,  66 

Snake  River,  52,  62,  63,  66 

Soda  Springs,  Ida.,  62 

Soil  fertility  in  "Willamette  Valley,  75 

Soule,  Bishop  Joshua,  98 

South  Dakota,  6 

Soudi  Pass,  55 

Spalding,  Eliza,  135 

Spalding,  H.  H.,  9,  94 

Spalding,  Justin,  160 

Spaulding,  Josiah,  142,  163 

Special  agent,  210,  211,  213,  214,  247 

Speculation,  Lee's  answer  to  charge 
against  him,  250,  252,  253,  260,  261 

Sprague,  W.  B.,  9,  28,  31,  42 

Springfield,  111.,  Lee's  meeting  in 
1838,  99 

Springfield  Republican,  217 

Stafford,  Conn.,  19 ;  Baptist  Church,  18 

Stanstead,  Quebec,  21,  22,  23,  132, 
275;  Lee's  farewell  for  Oregon, 
1833,  32;  Lee's  journey  to,  in  1839, 
128;  Lee's  visit  in  1844,  271,  272; 
revivals,  24 

Stanstead  Academy,  30 

State  University  of  Oregon,  195 

Stealing,  95,  193 

Stevens,  Thaddeus,  22 

Stuart,  Sir  William  Drummond,  69 

Sublette,  Milton,  44,  47,  54,  58 

Sublette,  William  L.,  53,  54 

Sumatra  (ship),  91 

Sweetwater  River,  55 

Tacoma,  277 

Taylor,  John,  175 

Tays,  Dr.  George,  242 

Temperance,  Lee's  service  to,  284 

Templeton,  Rev.  J.,  132 

Ten  Years  in  Or^^ow  (Lee  and  Frost), 

9,  175,  176 
Tepic,  237,  239 
Teton  River,  6 
Texas,  240,  244 


Thief,  95 

Thom,  Adam,  312 

Thompson,  David,  1 

Thomson,  Joseph,  152 

Thomson,  Lucy  (Mrs.  Jason  Lee), 
129,  133,  134,  152,  197,  325;  deadi, 
196;  illness,  190;  letter  to  O.  C. 
Baker  of  11  March,  1841,  190; 
letter  to  brother  and  sister,  Oct., 
1839,  152;  marriage  to  Jason  Lee, 
151 

Thornton,  J.  Q.,  2,  217,  218 

Tibbets,  Calvin,  174,  175,  192-193 

Tibbitts,  Mrs.  E.  [Calvin  Tibbets], 
162 

Tilki  (Indian  chief),  son  of,  95 

Tillamook  Bay,  175 

Topeka,  48 

Townsend,  J.  K.,  45-46,  50,  51,  53, 
54,  55,  68,  69;  on  Lee's  service  at 
Fort  Hall,  65 

Traders,  58 

Trappers,  51,  58 

Troy,  N.  Y.,  134 

Tualatin  Plains,  70,  203;  camp  meet- 
ing, 204 

Turner,  Rev.  C.  W.,  119 

Turner,  Rev.  Thomas,  15,  133 

Tyler,  President  John,  242,  244 

Umpqua,  164 

Umpqua  Indians,  183 ;  chiefs'  speeches, 

184,  185 
Umpqua  project,  182 
Umpqua  River,  183,  184 
Umpqua  Valley,  173,  182,  186 
University,  funds  for  a,  160 
Upshur,  A.  P.,  237 
Utica,  N.  Y.,  102,  138 

Valparaiso,  160 

Vancouver,  162 

Vera  Cruz,  237,  240,  242 

Vermin,  76 

Vermont,  20;  Lee's  journey  through, 
in  1839,  130,  133,  134 

Victor,  Frances  Fuller,  187,  205,  317; 
on  W.  W.  Kone,  173;  on  Lee's 
arrival  in  1840,  152;  on  Lee's 
widening  horizon,  52;  pen  portrait 
of  Lee,  28 

Voyageurs,  51 


INDEX 


347 


Waiilatpu,  93,  201 

Waherman,  Mr.,  48 

Waldo  hills,  187 

Walker,  Courtney  M.,  46 

Walker,  William,  4;  letter,  2,  3,  9, 
10;  letter  of  January  19,  1833,  de- 
scription and  publication,  10 

Wallace  Prairie,  195 

Walla  Wallas,  167,  200,  202 

Waller,  Rev.  Alvin  F.,  146,  182,  229, 
231,  233,  245,  291;  description  of 
Lee  29,  30;  letter  from  Willamette 
Falls  dated  6  April,  1842,  telling 
of  opportunities,  177,  179;  letter 
of  Aug.  19,  1842,  describing  his 
duties,  179;  letter  from  Lee  dated 
23  March,  1844,  234;  on  family  life, 
etc.,  181;  Willamette  Falls  Indian 
station,  176 

Waller,  Julia  Ellen  (Mrs.  C.  C.  Strat- 
ton),  179 

Waller  Hall,  182,  195 

Waller-McLoughlin  land  claim  con- 
troversy, 180;  documents  relating  to, 
291-315;  Lee  to  McLoughlin,  28 
Nov.,  1842,  295;  Lee's  relation  to, 
bibliography,  291-292;  McLoughlin 
to  Lee,  21  July,  1840,  and  com- 
ment, 293;  McLoughlin  to  Lee, 
18  Nov.,  1842,  293;  McLoughlin's 
comment  on  Lee's  letter  of  28  Nov., 

1842,  296;  McLoughlin  to  Ricord, 
10  Nov.,  1843,  299;  McLoughlin  on 
Ricord' s  last  interview,  303;  Mc- 
Loughlin on  Waller's  caveat  and 
comment,  306,  308;  McLoughlin's 
last  letter,  20  Nov.,  1845,  310-315; 
Ricord    to    McLoughlin,     2    Nov., 

1843,  298;  Ricord  to  McLoughlin, 
17  Nov.,  1843,  300;  Waller  to  Linn, 
6  Dec,  1843,  301;  Waller's  caveat, 
8  Dec,  1843,  305 

Walpole,  Mass.,  118,  128 

War  of  1812,  23 

Ware,  Maria  T.,  147 

Wascopam,   168,   200,   201,   206,   215 

Washington  (state),  170,  171 

Washington,    D.    C,    41;    Lee's    two 

meetings  in  1838,   109,   110;  Lee's 

visit  in  1844,  242 
Washington,  George,  19 
Water-power  site,  176 


Watson,  John,  128 

Watson,  Richard,   31 

Waugh,  Bishop  Beverly,  145,  211 

Wells,  Frederic  P.,  129,  131,  152 

Wesleyan  Church  in  Canada,  30 

Wesleyan  University,  13,  14,  33 

West,  47 

West  Chester,  Pa.,  41,  112 

West  Thompson,  Conn.,  117,  128 

West  Windsor,  Vt.,  33 

Western  Colonization  Society,  43 

Westfield,  Mass.,  270-271 

Weston,  Mass.,  38 

Westport,  Mo.,  98 

Whaspicum  (Wascopam),  168 

Whiskey,  284,  285 

Whitcomb,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  L.,  192 

White,  Dr.  Elijah  P.,  87,  88,  152, 
182,  202,  217,  228,  249;  account  of 
meeting  of  mission  reinforcement, 
164;  immigrant  train  in  1842,  200 

White  Susanna,  20 

White  Plains,  19 

Whitman,  Dr.  Marcus,  94,  201,  217; 
entry  in  journal  of  1835  about  Flat- 
heads  in  St.  Louis,  4;  Great  Emi- 
gration of  1843,  214;  Lee  meets, 
206,  213,  214;  Lee's  reference  to, 
117;  tribute  to  Lee,  215 

Whitman,  Mrs.  Marcus,  94,  135,  139, 
205,  206;  at  The  Dalles,  201; 
tribute  to  Lee,  215 

Whitman  mission,  93,  97 

Whitman,  Narcissa,  139,  206,  215 

Whittaker,  Jonathan,  Jr.,  19,  20 

Whittaker,  Jonathan,  Sr.,  19 

Whittaker,  Sarah,  19,  20 

Wilbraham,  Mass.,  106,  156,  271 

Wilbraham  Academy,  26;  Indian  half- 
breeds  enrolled,  97;  Lee  and  his 
friends  at,  27;  life  in  Lee's  time,  30; 
McKay  boys   enrolled,    107 

Wilder,  Lois,  152 

Wilkes,  Charles,  168,  172,  188,  193; 
comment  on  Mrs.  Abernethy,  259; 
comment  on  visit  to  the  Frosts,  174, 
175;  on  Rev.  Mr.  Waller  and  his 
mission,  176,  177;  visit  to  the  Lees, 
192 

Willamette  enterprise,  52 

Willamette  Falls,  203,  292,  309,  310; 
church  built,  180 


348 


INDEX 


Willamette  Falls  Indian  Station,  176, 
177 

Willamette  River,  72,  200,  203 

Willamette  University,  83,  182,  194; 
opening,  195 

Willamette  Valley,  216,  250,  276; 
settlers,  204,  215,  217;  Settlers' 
Petition  of  1838,  219 

Willamette  Valley  Mission,  282;  addi- 
tion to  building,  74;  dark  and  lonely 
days,  77,  78;  farming,  75;  first  rein- 
forcements, 80;  founding,  70;  Lee 
lectures  on  the  history  of,  162; 
Lee's  return  to,  in  1840,  162,  163; 
reinforcements,  87 ;  second  reinforce- 
ment, 90 

Willington,  Conn.,  17;  Congregational 
Church,  18;  Lexington  alarm  and 
its  contribution,  18 

Wills  of  Jason  Lee:  first,  231,  232; 
second,  274,  319 

Willson,  W.  H.,  88,  169,  193;  mar- 
riage to  Chloe  A.  Clark,  171 

Wilmington,  Del.,  41 

Winchester,  Va.,  112 


Wind  River,  57 

Wind  River  Mountains,  55 

Wishram,   167 

Withers,  Jonathan,  112 

Women,  white,  73 

Woodstock,  Vt.,   134,  135 

Wyandotte  Indians,  4 

Wyedi,  Nathaniel  J.,  34,  35,  39,  44, 
45,  47,  53,  122;  arrangements  of 
the  Lees  to  accompany  his  second 
expedition,  35;  Bonneville  and, 
63;  profanity,  60;  sale  of  post,  67 

Wyoming,  53,  57 

Yankees,  128 

Yellow  Serpent,  200,  202 

Yellowstone   (steamer),  6 

Yellowstone  River,  5,  6 

York,  Rev.  J.  W.,  2 

Young,     Ewing,     84,    284;    distilling 

projea,  284-285 
Young's  Bay,  229 
Z  ion's     Herald,     10,     332,     passim; 

Wyeth's  answers  to  inquiries  as  to 

the  Flathead  Indians,  36 


University  of 
Connecticut 

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